The Slytherin
by Sue-Drae
Summary: Corrine Wyncrest (OC) has big plans but big plans require allies and the wit to pull everything together. When she's sorted into Slytherin, she sees it as an opportunity rather than a handicap. Can she manage to change Slytherin house and keep her band of allies without falling to obscurity next to the Boy Who Lived? Set during book one
1. Chapter 1

"Weasley, Ronald!"

I waited impatiently as the gangly ginger who had been standing off on his own as the other first years had been Sorted away into their respective houses. Weasley left only two people left standing to be Sorted: Blaise Zabini and me. Blaise was lucky enough to already know with almost certainty where he was headed but I was still questionable. With his mother being a Slytherin prefect and his birth father able to easily trace his family back for seven or eight generations, he was a shoe-in for Slytherin. Me, on the other hand...

The Wyncrest family was known to be one of the greyer families of the Wizarding World. For almost two hundred years, my family was one of the leading names in potioneering and had all the power and prestige we could want. Being of a grey family, I had no solid assurance of where I would be Sorted, even with my brothers already having gone through the process.

My brothers Sebastian and Damien were four and two years older than me, respectively, and were the source of almost every tidbit of information I had on Hogwarts. The two were a source of contention in the Wyncrest house but they behaved themselves as well as a fifth year Slytherin prefect and a third year Gryffindor could. I knew that neither would relent in their teasing if I was Sorted into _Hufflepuff._

I missed hearing what house Ronald Weasley was Sorted into but, judging by the uproar from the gold and scarlet table, I assumed that he had joined the majority of his family in Gryffindor.

"Wyncrest, Corrine!" Professor McGonagall called, peering out at the crowd from above her list of names. Swallowing, I stepped up and sat down on the stool, very still as the Sorting Hat was lowered onto my head.

The Hat fell low, covering my dark eyes and blinding me to the Great Hall. I couldn't see any of the eyes on me but I knew that they hadn't left.

_"Ah... Corrine... I've sorted your brothers recently, haven't I?"_

_"Yes, sir... Sebastian and Damien."_

_"Yes, I remember... Interesting minds they had, a trait that seems to run in the family... Hmm... A difficult mind to be sure..."_

I gripped the edge of the stool as the Hat continued to prod gently through my mind. The weak Occlumency blocks that my father had started helping me to create fell away at his silent order as he sifted through my thoughts and memories.

_"You have a goal, don't you, Corrine? And a noble goal it is... So many paths ahead for you, girl."_ The Sorting Hat's rumbling voice drifted through my mind as he hummed thoughtfully. _"Then it is decided. SLYTHERIN!"_

Another round of applause rang throughout the Great Hall. As the Sorting Hat was lifted from my eyes, I couldn't help but send a glance to the Gryffindor table. Damien was there, clapping, with a wry smile on his face as if he was unsurprised.

I made my way to the Slytherin table where Sebastian was waiting for me with a broad smile. A little sheepish, I brushed my curly black hair back from my face to return the smile.

"So, Bass, this is your little sister?" a boy I didn't recognize asked. He loomed over me with his broad shoulders and I resisted the urge to cringe at his hot breath, too close to me.

"My name is Cor, not Bass's little sister," I said with as calm an expression as I could fake, holding my hand out to the larger boy. Instead of seeming offended, he grinned and laughed, shaking my hand.

"Spunk," he noted. "Name's Flint, Marcus Flint. Your brother's been telling me you're as good at Quidditch as he is. You should try out. We have a nice winning streak going that I don't want to lose."

"I thought that first years couldn't be on a team." I looked to my brother who, despite all of his scheming, preferred manipulating rules rather than breaking them. He was smirking.

"The rules state that a first year cannot bring their own broom. There's no rule against you being on a team or an older student lending you one."

"If you think I should," I said with a small smile. "I'm sure there's someone better."

"I'd bet twenty galleons that you can outfly any of Gryffindor's idiots." I didn't comment that Damien was one of those idiots. "And you are definitely a better seeker than the Higgs kid we have slotted to play for us this year."

I opened my mouth to reply but hesitated when a hand tapped against my shoulder. I turned to see a familiar face smirking at me from between his normal companions.

"Hello, Draco," I greeted pleasantly. The Malfoy nodded at me in greeting.

"Cor. Didn't think I'd be seeing you in Slytherin. I pegged you more for a Ravenclaw," he admitted freely. I shrugged.

"The Sorting Hat thought I'd be best off here, I suppose." A noncommittal answer was usually best, I'd learned, when dealing with the Malfoy family.

The Wyncrest family was neutral without strong ties to either light or dark families but I was very well acquainted with Draco, the Malfoy heir. I knew his mother well enough, as she attended and hosted a number of tea parties at which my mother and I had also been in attendance, and Draco's family always hosted a Yule masque not to mention other Ministry-sponsored parties and gatherings his father donated his way into. There had been some false alarms regarding betrothal contracts but my father was adamant in refusing to make or agree to such a contract. He thought it best if my brothers and I were independent as early as possible and, as such, made few of our decisions for us.

It was inevitable, though, that those discussions would come up again. I was Sorted into Slytherin which, as I knew from my upbringing, meant that I was still suitable marriage material. Unless I did something that would hurt my reputation, I would have to be careful.

"Oh, Cori, I'm so happy to see you here with the rest of us!" I resisted a scowl and put a smile on my face as I turned my attention to Pansy. "I was afraid you'd be stuck with your _other_ brother."

Sebastian stilled ever so slightly, the smile on his face twisting into something dangerous.

"Tread carefully, Parkinson," was all he said before turning to face Flint, catching the other boy in a comparison between Gryffindor's house team and the Chudley Cannons.

Say what you will, but I was proud of my brother's ability to silence the notorious loudmouth that was Pansy Parkinson. Then again, Sebastian was much older than Pansy. He'd had the time to build relationships and debts in Slytherin that, if manipulated correctly, would make her life much more difficult.

But I couldn't let Sebastian establish himself as my only method of defense. I had to grow claws sometime or later, or I'd be eaten alive. I'd heard stories about Slytherin life when Sebastian was a first year. He hadn't understood the game very well at the beginning and he'd paid for it. Now he was a master of the politics of the house. If not for the matriarchal nature of our family, he would have been a great choice as heir.

"I'm just as surprised as you are, Pansy, but it's of no consequence to my goals. I'm certain I can still be the best witch in my house. In fact, it might be easier here," I smiled. The smile only grew when Pansy bristled angrily. She recovered, but not before Daphne Greengrass took her shot.

"May the best witch win, Wyncrest," she said warmly, holding out her hand to me. I shook it, carefully curbing my grin.

"Likewise, Greengrass."

"Welcome!" We all turned to see Albus Dumbledore standing at the Head Table, holding out his arms openly and smiling like the highlight of his year was this feast. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"

And the great Albus Dumbledore took his seat once more to cheers and applause. I wasn't sure how I should react so I looked to my brother. Sebastian was clapping with a mildly amused smirk on his face.

"You weren't exaggerating when you described him," I said in a low voice. He chuckled under his breath.

"I don't think there is a way to exaggerate anything Albus Dumbledore does. If there was, that's what he'd be doing already. Some people think he's a little off his rocker, but he's still a brilliant wizard. Could you pass the roast beef?"

I nearly jumped at the sudden appearance of the food before sternly reminding myself that Hogwarts was staffed with over a hundred house elves. Tracking down the roast beef, I passed the dish to my brother before carefully serving myself some chicken and mashed potatoes, drifting back into conversation with the other first years.

Pansy's additions to the conversation were light and cordial, but her eyes promised revenge. I continued to eat my dinner, hiding a smile.

After desert, Dumbledore rose to his feet once more and the Hall fell silent.

"Ahem... Just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start of term notices to give you." His blue eyes sparked even from a distance. "First year students should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And some of our older students would do well to remember that as well. I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors.

"Quidditch tryouts shall be held during the second week of term. Anyone interested should contact their house captain or Madame Hooch for more information. And, finally, I must tell you that, this year, the third floor corridor on the right hand side is out of bounds for anyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

I looked to Sebastian to ask if he knew what Dumbledore was talking about, seeing as he was a prefect, but my brother was frowning thoughtfully.

"That's odd... He generally gives a reason as to why students aren't allow to go in certain areas. Everyone knows that the Forbidden Forest is full of dangerous creatures, but he didn't say anything about the third floor corridor."

"You mean he didn't even tell the prefects?"

"Evidently." Sebastian's cobalt eyes darted to the Gryffindor table suspiciously. Sebastian had a sort of beef with one of the Gryffindor prefects but he relaxed at whatever he saw there.

I was left stumbling through the words of the school song- which the Slytherins were all singing rather half-heartedly- and finished rather quickly with my jazzy rendition of the song. The last to finish were two redheaded boys from Gryffindor, twin Weasleys, that were singing to a slow funeral dirge. Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand and, when they at last were done, was one of the loudest clappers in the Hall.

"And now, bedtime! Off you trot!"

After winding through the dungeons with the rest of the Slytherin house, I found myself in a green-lit dorm with Millicent Bulstrode, Daphne Greengrass, and Pansy Parkinson. Without speaking, I selected a bed between Daphne and Millicent. That placed me directly across from Pansy, but I'd rather try my luck without her flanking me.

The moment I was in my pajamas, I realized how utterly exhausted the day had made me. Even as tired as I was and knowing that I'd already made an enemy of girl I'd be living with for the next seven years, I couldn't help but smile as I crawled into the warm black blankets, pulling the silky silver curtains closed.

I didn't know how quickly I'd feel at home at Hogwarts.


	2. Chapter 2

Getting up early the next morning, I was already out of the shower and dressed before Pansy even woke up so I escaped into the common room before she could try starting a second round between us. Until she won, I was still leading the race. And if I played my cards right, I'd keep the lead comfortable.

"You're up early." I turned to see Sebastian appearing out of the doorway that led to the male dorms. I smiled wryly.

"So are you," I noted. He raised an eyebrow as he casually fell into a seat on the couch next to me.

"Fair enough. Trying to keep Parkinson off of your throat?"

"You know me so well, big brother of mine," I teased. "Any advice?"

"Never ask for advice," he said with a small yawn. "Even from me. It could be seen as weakness and word will spread around here. For now, though, you just let Pansy waste her time. Kayla's roped me into giving the rookies a tour before your classes start but Pansy can't go if she's still showering."

"Then I guess I should go wake up Daphne and Mill," I grinned. Sebastian nodded, taking over my side of the couch as I stood up.

"You'll get used to it soon enough. Just be careful not to alienate her too much. Push her too far and she might snap, ruining both of you in one go."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"And, whatever you do, don't let it get out to the other houses. We can have all the in-fighting we want, but the only way we stay ahead of the others houses is because we can show a united front. If it's another house or Pansy, defend Pansy or the whole house will turn against you."

"Okay." The idea was food for thought. _A united front..._ It was another idea to keep in mind.

In hindsight, excluding Pansy from the tour was a double-edged sword. It made her look a bit like a fool when she walked into transfiguration on the first day almost fifteen minutes late but it meant that I had to offer her the seat next to me and then snap at the Hufflepuffs about how half of _them_ had been ten minutes late. Pansy had smiled gratefully and we were the best of friends for the class but, as soon as we were in the corridor, she was cold and angry again. It didn't help that Millicent brought up Sebastian's tour.

Pansy hadn't been able to do anything to me then. We had been in the corridor surrounded by other students of all different houses but she knew that I couldn't sidestep her forever. She stuck to Draco's side like glue, relying on him to show her to class and relying on her own ability to sweet talk so no one would suspect her clinginess for helplessness.

The first week passed without much incident but I was starting to get sick of the rumors surrounding a Gryffindor boy my age. Harry Potter wasn't anything too special. We were on the same boat across the lake and I'd stood next to him until he was Sorted into Gryffindor. He was raised by Muggles and, while that wasn't inherently bad, he didn't know the difference between a goblin and a gremlin. He probably had potential but he wasn't any better than any of the muggleborns that were getting mystified by his legend.

My first chance to see Harry Potter in action was double Potions on Friday.

Potions was taught by my head of house, Severus Snape, in a classroom in the dungeons. I sat at a table behind Pansy where I could keep an eye on her, with Daphne sitting next to me and Blaise on the other end. I wasn't especially close to Blaise, who was actually Draco's ally, but Draco was already sitting with Crabbe and Goyle. Daphne and I were already pretty similar, both being from wealthy neutral families, and we had a common need to keep Pansy under control. If Pansy got too much power, she'd be a tyrant.

Snape stood in the front of the class, staring out at the first years until the bell had rung. He started class with taking roll call, pausing after "Harry Potter."

"Ah yes," he said softly. "Our new... _celebrity_."

He continued on with roll, ignoring as Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle sniggered at Harry's expense. Once finished, he laid the attendance roster on his desk and turned to face the class.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making." He didn't speak very loudly, but no one in the room dared to interrupt. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death- if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

I exchanged a glance with Daphne and then Blaise. Potions sounded like it would be one of my harder classes though I wasn't too worried.

"Potter!" Snape barked. The boy, sitting next to the redhead who had been Sorted right before me- Ronald Weasley- jumped. He sat at the end of a desk, just across the aisle from me. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

I frowned at that. Draught of Living Death wasn't a potion that would be taught to first years. It might be mentioned in the textbook but there was hardly a chance for Harry to have known that. One of the other Gryffindors, to my surprise, apparently knew. The girl with frizzy hair had her hand raised almost desperately.

"I don't know, sir."

"Tut, tut. Fame clearly isn't everything." Frizzy-hair's hand was ignored. "Let's try again, Potter. Where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

_A goat's stomach._ Frizzy-hair's hand went up another inch. Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle were silently laughing. _This isn't right._

_United front_, Sebastian's words whispered through my mind.

"I don't know, sir," Harry repeated between clenched teeth.

"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?" Snape asked. Harry didn't avert his eyes from Snape's despite the challenge. Frizzy-hair's hand began to shake. "What is the difference, Potter, between wolfsbane and monkshood?"

Frizzy-hair actually stood from her seat, hand higher than ever.

_United front._

"I don't know, sir," Harry said once more. "I think Hermione does, though; why don't you try her?"

A few people laughed. The Potions Master was not ecstatic with Harry's attitude. His dark eyes glanced sharply to the Slytherin side of the classroom.

"Miss Wyncrest." I resisted the urge to jump as Snape's attention fell to me. "Would you care to enlighten Potter?"

_United front. Don't go against it. He's your head of house. United front._

"Powdered root of asphodel and infusion of wormwood can be mixed to produce the Draught of the Living Death," I said as clearly as I could manage. I couldn't look at Harry or his friends. "A bezoar is a stone that can cure most poisons that forms in the stomach of a goat. And monkshood and wolfsbane are the same plant, which is also known as aconite."

"Excellent. Ten points to Slytherin for Miss Wyncrest's preparedness for class. And a point from Gryffindor House for your cheek, Potter."

The class continued on in a similar manner. We were assigned to craft a Cure for Boils, a reasonably easy potion, but mistakes were made all around the classroom. The only ones who were punished for it, however, were Gryffindors.

"Neville!" I hissed urgently as the pureblood working at the desk behind me prepared to add another ingredient to his potion. The boy looked at me, so startled that I wondered if my being a Slytherin nullified the years I'd known him.

"What?" he asked quietly, an almost panicked expression on his face.

"Take the cauldron off the fire before adding the quills," I said softly. His partner, Seamus Finnegan, scowled.

"Don't listen to her, mate. She's a Slytherin. She's probably just trying to trick you into mucking up the potion."

"Just take the potion off of the fire," I whispered quickly before turning back to my own potion. Daphne was looking at me curiously. "What?"

"You're helping a Gryffindor?" She seemed more surprised than angry. I glanced down at the bubbling potion. "Why?"

_United front._

_Shut up!_ I told Sebastian's voice.

"Neville and I are... _were_ friends," I clarified, glancing back at the Gryffindor as Seamus reassured him that I was just lying to him. "I guess I feel bad for him."

"... Be careful, then," Daphne cautioned before turning the fire off. I weighed the porcupine quills once more to make sure we'd measured them correctly when a loud hissing came from the table behind me. I resisted a groan.

"On your chair!" I warned Daphne as the Gryffindors' potion melted through Seamus' cauldron and was spreading across the floor, releasing acrid green smoke.

"Idiot boy!" Snape scolded harshly. He whipped out his wand, clearing the spilled potion with a single wave. Neville had apparently been drenched in the potion after they'd added the porcupine quills. He was moaning in pain, covered in angry red boils. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off of the fire?"

I clenched my fist as Snape ordered Seamus take him to the hospital wing before rounding on Harry.

"You, Potter, why didn't you tell him not to add the quills? Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong, did you? That's another point you've lost for Gryffindor."

"Sir?" I froze when Pansy raised her hand innocently. "Corrine _did_ try to warn them but Neville wouldn't listen to her."

_Damn it!_ I looked to Snape, hoping beyond hope that he wouldn't throw me to the dogs. Snape was staring at me calculatingly.

"Miss Wyncrest, is that true?" he asked, almost daring me to lie. I swallowed before nodding.

"It is," I confirmed. _Please don't ask why. Please don't ask-_

"Five points to Slytherin, for Miss Wyncrest's attentiveness to her surroundings and willingness to help her fellow classmates." I didn't take it as a reward, though. Snape's mouth was a thin line that promised that I wouldn't escape this unscathed. "The next time you see a situation that could warrant a trip to the hospital wing, I expect you to notify me immediately."

So he would give me a chance for redemption. If I saw someone doing something wrong, I could either help them and risk getting caught or throw them under the bus. I could make my life easier if Snape liked me but it would be at the cost of any acquaintance I have outside of Slytherin House.

"Yes, sir," I responded quietly. "It will not happen again."

* * *

><p>I was cornered outside of the Potions classroom, and not by my housemates. Thanks to my stupid decision to go to the common room without Daphne to put my books away alone, I found myself back up against a wall by Harry's friend.<p>

"Why'd you try to help Neville?" he demanded brusquely. I scoffed.

"You put the rest of your house to shame with your lack of tact," I snapped. He glared at me, reddening.

"Why'd you help Neville?" he repeated. I smirked.

"It drives you insane, I hope. Why would a slimy little snake even want to _try_ and be decent? Does she have something to gain? What angle is she playing at?" I asked. I tried to inch away but Ron angled to block me. Harry looked distinctly uncomfortable.

"Ron, is it that important?"

"Yes," Ron said without looking at him. "I want to know whose side she's on! You remember Damien? The bloke who got us to Transfiguration on time? That's _her_ brother."

"So?" Harry was confused and weary looking.

"_So_, her other brother is a slimy _git_." I stilled at the insult. United front aside, Sebastian was my brother and my strongest lifeline in Slytherin house. He was the ally I could rely on unless I threatened to bring him down. He'd defend me until it could ruin him.

So, naturally, I reacted. My clenched fist soared up and into Ron's face, catching him just short of his upturned nose.

"Don't you _ever_ insult my family!" I snarled. Ron staggered back, cursing under his breath. I looked to Harry, whose expression was quickly hardening into distaste. "Sebastian and Damien are _both_ my brothers, no matter what house we're in and I don't care what an ignorant prick like you has to say about it! You want to know why I helped Neville? I helped him because he was my _friend_. So don't you talk to me about _sides_, Weasley!"

"Talking about my family now?" Ron yelled angrily, recovering from the punch. His left eye was watering and his cheek and nose were steadily reddening but he was still plenty good at being angry.

"Ron!" Harry jumped in between us, pushing Ron further away from me. "You talked about her family first," he pointed out. Ron scowled.

"She's a Slytherin, mate. You can't trust them."

"So you throw the first punch?" I snapped.

"Don't you talk about first punches," Harry interrupted whatever Ron was about to say hotly. "Now why is this even important? Why isn't Neville your friend now?"

"You should ask him," I said, straightening. "I thought we were still friends until he listened to Finnegan over me. Guess not even Neville can be seen talking to a snake."

"So..." Harry looked confused. "You were really trying to help?"

I actually laughed.

"There isn't always an angle, Potter. Neville was a good friend and he's had a hard life that Snape isn't trying to make any easier."

"I didn't see you trying to help him when Snape was rounding on him," Ron growled, still partially behind Harry.

"I didn't see you trying to help him either."

"I'm not one of his precious snakes. He would've just taken off more points!"

"And what makes you think that he'd like one of his snakes protecting a Gryffindor? I'd pay for it in more than points. I'd be ostracized by everyone in Slytherin. Not even my brother would be able to talk to me without becoming a target."

"Sure," Ron scoffed. I glared at him.

"I'm not asking you to believe me, Weasley- like I said, there isn't always an angle- but if you don't get out of my face I'm going to scream and get every Slytherin in the dungeons after you." I wasn't sure if that would have been completely necessary. Sebastian and Damien had always been talking about different curses, how they were used, what they did, and so forth. I was almost certain I could do one well enough to get away.

"You wouldn't do that," Harry said thoughtfully. I smiled wryly.

"I wouldn't want to, but I would if it came to it."

"So come with us. Ron and I are going to visit Hagrid for tea."

"The gameskeeper?" I raised an eyebrow. Harry grinned.

"That's the one."

"Harry, you must be joking," Ron said with wide eyes. Harry ignored him, looking at me intently. I studied him carefully.

"I can't now. There is already going to be a lot of instability with my position in Slytherin thanks to Pansy. Maybe another time." I don't know why I felt the need to provide an excuse, but I was being honest. Being seen with two Gryffindors- one of them being Harry Potter no less- would only hurt me.

"Sounds like being a Slytherin is a full time job," Harry joked half-heartedly. I still smiled softly.

"Don't worry, I'm well paid in house points every potions class."

Harry laughed as Ron grit his teeth.


	3. Chapter 3

"What took you so long?" Daphne asked in a whisper as I slid into the chair next to her. First week or not, we both were still assigned a lot of homework so we decided to use our Friday off to finish or at least get started on the list of papers we had to write.

"I might have gotten cornered by Ron Weasley and Harry Potter," I said just as quietly. Daphne gave a hushed gasp.

"Are you okay? Did they hurt you or anything?" The idea of either boy hurting me make me laugh under my breath.

"They didn't hurt me, but Ron might have a bruise under his left eye tomorrow that could possibly be my fault."

"You got in a fight? That's so reckless, Cor. You could have lost points or worse had you been caught."

"We were near the common room. I figured if it really escalated into a fight I could have screamed and gotten some support," I defended lightly. Daphne frowned worriedly.

"What was it even about?"

"Ron wanted to know why I tried to help Neville. I think he was a little disappointed to realize that not all Slytherin's are self-centered pricks."

"And the punch?"

"He insulted my family."

"Ah..." Family was important in the wizarding world, something Daphne knew as well as I did. If Ron had insulted Astoria, she likely would have hexed the eyebrows off of him.

"Did you say that you got in a fight with Ron Weasley?" a new voice asked. I resisted the urge to groan. _Now someone else knows..._ But I looked up to see Hermione, the girl who had apparently read up on Potions before class. Her hair was frizzy as usual, her arms full of books.

"I would prefer to call it more of a kerfuffle," I shrugged. "You're a Gryffindor. Hermione, right?"

"Uh- yes!" the girl squeaked after hesitating. I glanced at Daphne as Hermione took a seat, stacking her books on the table neatly. "Can I know what the fight was about?"

"House elf rights," I said absently. "Then I was invited to tea and we all went our merry way." Hermione's face made it clear that she thought I was making fun of her. I sort of was... I sighed. "It's nothing important."

"Or it's too important to talk about with me," Hermione said a little sullenly. "It's okay. I guess I'm used to that by now."

"It's not you," I said, raising an eyebrow. "It's actually hardly worth talking about. Weasley wanted to know why I, the slimy Slytherin, was interested enough in Neville Longbottom's well being to try and help him."

"Well... Why were you? I mean-" Hermione blushed a little, brushing her frizzy hair back with one hand. "I've seen people from your house and there are rumors..."

Hermione's voice drifted off into nothingness as if she realized that she was being rude. I wondered if she realized just how tactless she was, though.

"You're muggleborn." It wasn't a question but Hermione nodded a little sheepishly. "That means that you only know what you've heard or read in books. Slytherin has a bad reputation for being self-centered and ambition-crazed but that's not all we are. We're supposed to be clever and resourceful. We find solutions other people can't, recognize potential allies in a sea of enemies, and can talk in circles so tight that will make you dizzy. No one remembers that anymore, though. They only think of the Dark Lords that've come out of Slytherin."

"Like He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?"

"Exactly," I said, grimacing. "But the rumors are what spreads... I was friends with Neville before Hogwarts. I've known him since I was baby. His mother was my godmother... I tried to help him in Potions because I thought that that friendship was something that carried over despite our house loyalties. Evidently, I was mistaken."

There was silence for a long time. Daphne, not having anything to add to the conversation at this point, returned to her transfiguration assignment. I was about to do the same when Hermione spoke.

"Thank you," she said sincerely, smiling a little sadly. "... I don't know why those rumors exist if there are still Slytherins like you. You're the first person so far who's bothered having a conversation with me."

"Don't mention it," I chuckled. "As in, you probably shouldn't talk about it or I could get into serious trouble with my housemates because a lot of them personify the nastier rumors."

"Okay then..."

"And Hermione? Just a tip," I said, opening my herbology book to get a jump on the next chapter. "Tone it down in class. I know that you're really happy to be learning about magic and all, but you're not doing yourself any favors with your classmates from what I saw. Let other people try to answer the question, then give it a shot."

"You think that'll help?" Hermione asked hopefully. Daphne looked up with a tired sigh.

"Honestly, Granger, you made _me_ feel stupid for not knowing that bezoar thing and I'm the heir to one of the wealthiest neutral families in Great Britain. And if you repeat those words to anyone, I shall deny them and exact my revenge slowly and painfully... Even Cor didn't answer until she was asked directly and _she's_ insufferable when it comes to potions." Daphne returned attention to her books, falling silent. I grinned at her.

"Potions run in my blood; what can I say?" That was actually true, in a sense. My family hadn't begun as particularly wealthy and then one of my ancestors, experimenting with highly dangerous poisons, stumbled upon and invented Amortentia. Since then, it's been family tradition to teach botany and then potion-making from a very young age. I learned how to tend to a garden and then make basic potions from my own ingredients starting when I was six. I was already expecting herbology to be a cinch.

Seeing Hermione's confused expression, I had mercy on her. She didn't seem to be very good at handling not knowing a piece of information.

"My family gained prominence after one of my ancestors invented Amortentia, the strongest love potion in existence, so it's sort of a tradition to educate the kids on potions before starting school."

"I wish I'd gotten that," Hermione frowned. "I think potions is going to be my worst class."

"I could have my mom mail in my old botany books if you'd like. The hardest thing about potions is learning how the ingredients work together. Once you learn that, it's sort of like math."

"You'd really do that for me?"

"I suppose." Hermione's happy brown eyes were beginning to make me uncomfortable, like I was suddenly her favorite person in the world. "But don't make a scene about it, okay?"

"Oh, right. Your house," Hermione said, nodding briskly before jumping up. "Oh, I've been here too long! I told Neville that I'd visit him in the hospital wing to make sure he's okay!" Hefting her books into her arms as if they were weightless, Hermione said her goodbyes quickly and quietly before fleeing the library.

"You make the strangest of allies, Corinne," Daphne informed me dryly. Staring at Hermione's quickly retreating back, I shook my head.

"It seems I do."

* * *

><p>"Quidditch tryouts are tomorrow," a voice said quite close to my ear. I turned to see Marcus Flint standing over me. I sighed, lowering my fork. <em>I was just getting started with dinner.<em>

"What time do you want me?" I asked patiently. Draco, a little further down the table, scowled.

"Cor's a first year," he said rather loudly. "She's not allowed to try out."

"First years aren't allowed to have their own brooms," Flint corrected, shaking his head. "She's borrowing Bass's for try outs. And, depending on how she does, he'll order a new broom and give her the old one. Isn't that right, Bassy?"

"Don't call me that," my brother said, not even glancing up from his chicken. "But yes, that sounds right to me."

Draco's scowl deepened but I didn't shy away when his glare met my eyes. Pansy I could make an enemy of; I couldn't let Draco think that I was a potential enemy. He'd be too strong down the line as Lord Malfoy.

"I don't think I'll make it... Maybe we both can try out next year," I offered. Draco's glare subsided and he returned his attention to dinner, mumbling under his breath. I resisted a relieved sigh.

"Good thing we finished our homework before dinner," Daphne muttered to me. "Otherwise I'd be stuck inside while you showed off your stuff."

"Does that mean you're coming to the tryouts?"

"It's that or find Hermione Granger and have a riveting conversation on house elf rights," Daphne said dryly. I laughed.

* * *

><p>The Quidditch pitch was almost silent as the returning and hopeful members of the Slytherin house team gathered up their equipment. Sebastian, calm as ever, absently threw a quaffle in the air, catching it casually before throwing it up again.<p>

I was the only first year on the pitch, but a couple of brave second years were also trying out. The rest of the twenty or so students on the pitch were all third years or older, making me feel tiny in their shadows.

I glanced behind me to the stands. Along with some older students, each of the other first year Slytherins were there, ready to watch as I either made the team or made a fool out of myself. Pansy in particular had a malicious grin on her face as she snuggled as close as she could get to Draco. I glanced to Daphne. My friend nodded encouragingly.

"Alright," Flint began, his voice rumbling over the assembled returnees and hopefuls. "You know the rules. Just because you were in last year doesn't mean you're guaranteed a spot. We're looking for only the best.

"We've got a seven year win streak going against the others and I do not want to lose that now. Got it?" No one spoke but it was sufficiently clear. "Alright. This is how this works. You each try out for each position. I tell you what your best at. If there's more than just you in that category when we're done with everyone, we narrow it down. To start, we're doing keepers."

Needless to say, I was bluntly reminded exactly why Sebastian was the keeper in our family. Out of the ten tosses that were made by Flint, I only managed to block four and two of those was more luck than skill.

After that, Flint ordered for the bludgers to be released and we were tested to see if there were any surprise beaters in the mix. I never got hit by a bludger, but I discovered that I was much better at dodging the damn things than I was hitting them.

"Alright. Chasing," Flint said with a grin. Chasing was Flint's expertise. He set Sebastian to guarding the posts and then had each one of us try our hand at scoring while Flint did his best to knock us off course by intentionally swerving into us or trying to swipe the quaffle. I fared fairly well in this category, earning four out of ten goals. It was hard for anyone who tried to get a goal out of Sebastian, even if he wasn't using his own broom. The best chaser that wasn't Flint himself only got six out of the ten goals.

By the end of the chasing, I was getting tired. My arms were starting to get sore after trying to avoid the bludgers and my head was pounding from a tight corkscrew maneuver that I had to take when Flint fly at me from my blind side. Despite all that, I was excited.

Sebastian was the keeper, Damien was a chaser, and I was the seeker. Seeking was where I shone, where I could outfly and outmaneuver anyone in my way to get at that tiny little snitch.

When Flint announced that we would begin the seeking tryouts, I was almost bouncing on the balls of my feet.

"You ready, sis?" Sebastian asked me quietly. I turned to see him grinning at me. I opened my mouth to respond when Flint called my name. I looked at him to see a small gold ball in his hand that I recognized immediately. He held it up for me to see, keeping a careful grip on it.

"Corinne! You're up. I'm going to release the snitch. On three, you go and catch it as fast as you can. Then bring it back."

"Understood," I nodded, getting on the borrowed broom and hovering just a few feet so I wouldn't be starting at nothing. Flint released the snitch and I watched as it zoomed away.

"One... Two... Three!" And I was off.

Sebastian had just gotten a new broom- a Nimbus 2000, no less!- for becoming a prefect and the new broom was fantastic. It responded to the slightest touch or lean as if it were connected directly to me. I rocketed off of the ground, getting twenty, then forty, then sixty feet up in the air before I slowed to a stop, scanning the air for that telltale glint of gold.

_There!_

Spotting the snitch was only half of the battle, though. I dived directly towards the sand, leaning into the dive as I almost fell into where the snitch was, ready to pull up at a moment's notice. The glint shifted and I pulled back, ten feet from the ground, and spiralled up once more, eyes locked on the delicate snitch that was getting closer and closer, so close that I could reach out and-

"Got it!" I shouted to no one in particular as my gloved hand clasped around the fluttering ball. In the warmth of my palm, the ball retracted its delicate wings, returning to its neutral state as I righted myself and held my arm up in victory.

With a grin on my face, I flew back to where Flint and the others were waiting, holding the snitch in front of me victoriously.


	4. Chapter 4

"That was incredible!" Daphne cheered after the tryouts had ended. I hadn't been alone in the seeker category by the end of the first round but Terence Higgs, after exchanging a glance with Flint, had left quietly. With no one else, I was pretty much guaranteed the spot. Even so, I raised an eyebrow.

"You really think so?"

"No. I hate Quidditch. But I'm glad you didn't hurt yourself," Daphne said, shifting her stance on the tryouts drastically. I looked past Daphne to see the other first year Slytherins.

"So? What's the verdict?" I asked.

"You don't completely suck," Pansy said dryly. I got the feeling that she hadn't actually watched any of the tryouts. She was probably too busy trying to rope Draco into a conversation.

"Guess you'll be my competition next year," Draco said, extending a friendly hand. I recognized the hand as a truce and, gladly, I accepted. It was always nice when someone decided to not hate me. Blaise was past such formality, thankfully.

"Where did you learn to fly like that, Cor?" he asked. "That spiral you did was... Wow. Your family really lucked out in the Quidditch category, huh? With a keeper like Sebastian and a seeker like you, Slytherin'll be impossible to beat no matter who Gryffindor plays!"

"Glad you think so, Blaise," I smiled.

"Oh, before I forget," Daphne hummed. "Did you see the new notice on the board in the common room? You left so early this morning, I didn't get a chance to ask you about it."

"New notice?"

Draco smirked.

"We're taking flying lessons with Gryffindor on Thursdays. They won't know what hit them."

* * *

><p>Flying lessons did not seem like they were going to be much fun. First, I already knew how to fly. I was a great flier, if I do say so myself, and learning how to move in a straight line for a grade didn't seem to be a very fulfilling use of time. Add on the fact that the school's brooms were almost dangerously old and Flying became a class I was loathe to attend.<p>

Even so, I went quietly with the other Slytherins on Thursday. If all went well and I made the team, I would be exempt from the class starting next week. It was only because Flint wouldn't put the final roster up until Friday, saying that he needed to officialize it with Snape and Dumbledore before releasing the list, that I hadn't ordered a broom through Sebastian yet.

Madame Hooch arrived with the last of the Gryffindors, hardly on time for her own class. She had short grey hair and strange yellow eyes that seemed to hone in on each student as she walked past.

"Well! What are you all waiting for? Everyone stand by a broomstick! Hurry up!" she barked out. I found myself next to an old broom that might have been a Cleansweep Four. That worried me enough, since Cleansweep hadn't made a generation Four broom since the late forties, making the broom older than my parents.

"Stick out your dominant hand over your broom," Hooch instructed sharply, "and say 'Up!'"

"Up," I murmured to the old broom. It leapt into my hand but it was one of very few to do so. I glanced around, noticing that Harry's had also gone directly to him.

I wait patiently as Madame Hooch went through the process of explaining to the others how they should grip their brooms, how to keep on without sliding off, etc. before going down the line and correcting their grip. I smiled brightly at her as she hardly glanced at my hands before moving to correct Draco's grip.

"Now," she began when everyone's grip had been checked. "When I blow my whistle I want you to kick up from the ground- hard. Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, then come back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle... Three... Two...-"

Neville pushed against the ground too early and found himself rising quickly. Yelping, he panicked- the absolute worst thing to do on a broom- and Madame Hooch wasn't helping him any by yelling at him to come back down. I watched as he rose to twenty feet and kept climbing.

_If he keeps going and loses his grip, he's going to hurt himself!_

And then, because my luck is terrible, Neville did just that. I watched in slow motion as the broom slipped sideways, twisting out of Neville's hands, and the boy began to plummet to the earth. Before I could be aware of what I was doing, I was off of the ground, guiding the turtle-fast Cleansweep to intercept Neville's descent.

I rose above Neville ever so slightly, trying to slow his descent before we really hit the ground, and caught him over the handle of the broom. The Cleansweep, unable to take the extra weight, began violently shaking beneath my hands and I brought us down as quickly as I could, ignoring Neville's terrified mumblings.

Then we were on the ground again. The second I released my hold on the Cleansweep, it began drifting away rebelliously, threatening to join Neville's as the latter zoomed off into the Forbidden Forest. Madame Hooch was at our side in an instant.

"Foolishly dangerous!" she was shouted, checking over both of us nervously. "Miss Wyncrest, I hope you understand that what you just did, though brave, was highly dangerous and could have ended in both of you being seriously hurt. Mr. Longbottom, you're going to the hospital wing to make sure you're not hurt. "

"Madame Hooch, I was only acting to make sure Neville wasn't seriously hurt. He's never been a strong flier and-"

"Good! Then you can explain your behavior to Professor Snape," she snapped. I hoped I didn't look as pale as I felt. Glancing at Neville, he was stark as a sheet. Madame Hooch had returned her attention to the rest of the class. "None of you are to move while I'm gone! You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts faster than you can say Quidditch!"

Grabbing both Neville and I firmly by the shoulder, Madame Hooch marched off with us in tow.

* * *

><p>"Professor Snape?" Hooch's voice was careful, delicate even, as she knew full well that Snape was dangerous at his best moments. Now, interrupting the Potions Master's free period for a student-involved problem, would not do anything to improve the man's mood.<p>

Neville was lucky that he'd been dropped off first. He didn't have to see the contempt in Snape's eyes when the professor looked up from the paper he'd been reading.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Miss Wyncrest, here, has something to tell you." It seemed Hooch didn't know how to phrase the event and make me out to be a bad guy. She tightened her hold on my wrist and I began to speak.

"We, the first year Slytherins and Gryffindors, were just in the beginning of our first Flying lesson, sir. We were just about to lift off when Neville Longbottom, nervous about flying, kicked off early and starting shooting upward uncontrollably. After he rose to twenty feet and continued higher, I knew that losing his grip on the broom or failing to get it back under control would result in his being seriously hurt at best. As predicted, Neville lost his grip on the broom and began falling from about thirty five feet. Knowing what could happen if he hit the ground at that speed, I used one of the school brooms and flew up. I caught Neville mid-fall and got both of us to the ground safely."

Snape was silent for a long time before looking to Hooch.

"I seem to be lacking some element to the story because, so far as I can tell, Miss Wyncrest behaved admirably and possibly saved the life of one of her fellow students. If you find her to be an issue in your class, Madame Hooch, consider it resolved. The Headmaster and I have just approved Marcus Flint's decision to commit her as the seeker on the Slytherin house team. As such, she'll be out of your class on the assumption that she is kept on the team roster."

"Ah- Very well. Thank you, Professor Snape." Madame Hooch left, apparently forgetting that I should be getting back to the Flying lesson with her. With her gone, I didn't have a very convenient way to leave Snape's presence.

"Tread carefully, Miss Wyncrest," Snape warned seriously. I shivered at the words. Sebastian had told that to Pansy, getting _her_ to shut up. I didn't want to be like Pansy but I had no idea what Snape would do if I talked back. "Your... connections to Gryffindor house will not go unseen by the others. I want you to think of why I allowed you to join the house team."

"It's not because I'm a good seeker, is it?" I asked shyly. Snape didn't speak but his glare strengthened. I swallowed. "If I help Slytherin earn a decisive win in Quidditch, that will help my standing in the house. If we crush Gryffindor, no one will remember me trying to help Neville."

"You're getting closer... Return to the common room. I believe a package came in for you this afternoon."

Taking the opportunity gladly, I gave a polite goodbye and hastened out of the dimly lit room. I didn't slow my brisk walk until I was before the common room entrance.

"_Iunctis Ante_," I murmured, pausing as the entrance appeared before walking down the passageway. The moment I was in the common room itself, I knew exactly what Snape was talking about when he mentioned a package. Perched neatly on one of the coffee tables nearest to the girls' dormitories was a long narrow shape that I immediately recognized as a broomstick. Grinning, I walked up to the broom, snatching the note from the twine tying the brown paper to the broom.

_To my little Seeker,_

_Your father and I were so proud to get Sebastian's letter! You would do well to take after him and write to your poor old parents every now and then, darling._

_Your father doesn't want me to say this, but I'm so happy that you're doing so well in Slytherin. It's difficult at first, I know, but I promise you that it does get a lot easier. And, if __**this**__ helps any, I'm sure that things will drastically improve after your first Quidditch game._

_I would wish you good luck in the upcoming but I doubt you'll need it. You were born to fly, my little bird._

_With Love,_

_Mama_

Smiling at the letter, I tucked it into my pocket and took up the wrapped broom. Sitting down at one of the dark green couches, I unwrapped the broom carefully. A gleam of mahogany and gold caught my eye at the handle and I found myself staring at a brand new Nimbus 2000. I whistled to myself, carefully examining every facet of the broom. I knew that I'd flown Sebastian's Nimbus 2000 less than a week ago for the tryouts but it was so different to know that this was _mine_.

_Thank you, Ancestor-Who-Invented-Amortentia._

That night at dinner, I could barely contain myself as I tracked down Flint at the Slytherin table.

"Bass let slip to our parents that I got onto the team so they ordered me a broom. Nimbus 2000," I confided happily. The captain grinned.

"Excellent. Between you and Bass with those, there's no way anyone's outflying us. Eight year winning streak, here we come!"

I smiled back at the captain before catching a glimpse of movement in the corner of my eye. I looked up to see Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle standing at the Gryffindor table.

"What are they up to?" I muttered to myself. Flint glanced over and grimaced.

"You didn't hear, then? Apparently, after you left flying lessons, Malfoy decided to have a little fun. From what I heard, he made a fool out of himself and made Harry Potter look like the next Charlie Weasley. Wood got taken out of Charms today so I'd assume McGonagall's drafted the kid for her house team."

I recognized Charlie's name from Sebastian's old letters. He had been the Gryffindor seeker and an impressive one at that.

"So Potter and I will be seeking against each other for the first game?" I was careful not to use his first name. I didn't want Flint to think I was acquainted with Harry. No good would come out of that.

"Maybe," Flint said uncertainly. "Snape'll tell us if he's on their team once it's set. We'll practice like they've got a good seeker, in any case."

"Alright..." I reclaimed my seat

* * *

><p>A large pile of books suddenly appeared on the table before me and I sighed.<p>

"We're going to be meeting a lot like this, aren't we?" I asked Hermione, not even glancing up at her.

"That wasn't right for Madame Hooch to bring you to Professor Snape like you'd done something wrong," she said quickly, as if to get it out of the way. I glanced up, shrugging.

"It's okay. He actually didn't punish me at all."

"Really? What'd he say?"

"Slytherin stuff about how I should curb my help-Gryffindor time. And then I officially made the house Quidditch team and got a broom from my parents as a congratulations-we're-proud-of-you gift."

"Seriously?"

"No, _jokingly_. Yes, seriously, Hermione. Now what is it you wanted to say? Surely it wasn't just concern for little old me."

"Well... After you and Neville were taken out, Malfoy found Neville's remembrall. His gran got it for him, you see, and Malfoy almost took it from him earlier but Professor McGonagall stopped him. Harry told Malfoy to give it back, but he didn't, and then they were both flying and-"

"I heard. Draco made a fool out of himself and Harry got taken away by McGonagall." I didn't mention what Flint told me about Wood but it seemed that Hermione was eager to share the details.

"That's not all, though. Professor McGonagall took him to the Gryffindor house captain and now Harry's been accepted as their seeker. I've done a lot of research on Quidditch, though, and it seemed like a really dangerous sport."

"I'm not going to body slam Harry into a goal post during the Gryffindor-Slytherin game if that's what you're getting at," I chuckled. Hermione huffed, sitting down beside me.

"But-"

"Look, does Harry know that you're worried about him?"

"Well, no-"

"Then go tell him. And try not to be a nag about it. Quidditch is a lot of fun and Ron's not going to let him back down easily. If you want to be friends with Harry, you'll have to deal with him playing Quidditch. You can ask Neville on how to do that. He dealt with it admirably when we were friends."

"Oh! Neville's been released from the hospital ward," Hermione told me. "He wanted to thank you for rescuing him like that but he didn't know where to find you."

"Well you seemed to know where to find me," I pointed out. Hermione blushed lightly.

"Yeah, but..."

I sighed.

"Shouldn't you all be the ones rushing in headfirst and I being the one waiting anxiously to see what the opponent's next move is?"


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning at breakfast, I wasn't completely surprised to see a long parcel being delivered to Harry by six large screech owls. Hermione had already confirmed that Harry had been accepted to the team so it was only natural that he get a broom.

I watched in short glances as Harry opened the letter and showed it to an excited Ron. Glancing around the table, I looked to Flint.

"Potter's going to leave to unwrap his broom. I'll find out what model it is."

"Good idea," he said as clearly as he could around a cinnamon roll. I snatched one of the cinnamon rolls off of the plate in front of Flint and got to my feet, saying a quick goodbye to Daphne as she came to the table, quickly explaining why I was leaving before heading on my way, nibbling on the roll.

I leaned against the wall in the entrance hall, waiting for Harry and Ron to come out, as I finished the cinnamon roll. Just as I finished, the two came out, talking hurriedly to each other.

"Harry," I called. The two boys jerked and turned around. Harry was smiling a little cautiously but Ron was scowling at me.

"Spying for your house now, Wyncrest?"

"I am actually, Weasley," I admitted with a shrug. "I know Harry's made the Gryffindor team. What kind of broom did you get, Harry?"

"It's a-"

"Don't tell her that," Ron hissed. I rolled my eyes.

"I'm asking politely, Weasley. You've got to know that there are other ways for someone on the team to find out. Flint knows the training schedule of every team- he could just go to your practice and see for himself."

"She's got a point," Harry said a little uncomfortably. "It's a Nimbus 2000."

"Brilliant. That'll be interesting to outfly you with."

"What d'you mean?" Ron asked suspiciously.

"You've got practice tonight at seven, right?" I asked Harry, ignoring Ron. Harry nodded. "Why don't you meet me there around six-thirty? No house versus house competition, just us and the sky?"

"That sounds fun," Harry smiled. I grinned before looking at Ron.

"You can chaperone me to make sure I'm not stealing any of Harry's moves if you want," I offered. Ron glowered at me before looking to Harry.

"I can bring that potions paper down to the field," Ron decided quickly.

* * *

><p>I was pleasantly surprised when Harry came down to the Quidditch pitch alone. Explaining a little sheepishly, he said something about reminding Ron that they also had to write a History of Magic paper. He had crept out when Ron was too distracted with badgering Hermione for her notes.<p>

"You really ought to go easier on her," I found myself saying as Harry chuckled at Hermione's expense. "She might be a little overeager but it's only because she finds magic so fascinating... Her parents are _dentists_, Harry. That's the most boring job in the Muggle world from what I've heard. Of course she's going to be a little enthusiastic with magic."

"Since when have you and Hermione been friends?" Harry asked curiously. I frowned. I didn't actually know when we put the 'friend' label on whatever sort of relationship we had but it seemed to be accurate now that Harry brought it up.

"I guess after the first Potions class. After you and Ron let me leave, I met Daphne at the library and Hermione sort of listened in when I told Daphne that I punched Weasley in the face."

"He still hasn't forgiven you for that, by the way."

"Eh. I've made worse enemies. But enough of that. We're burning daylight and Wood will probably accuse me of espionage the moment he sees me so we better get started."

"So you're not spying now?"

"I meant it when I said just us and the sky, Potter."

That seemed good enough for Harry. He mounted his broom and kicked off, soaring higher and higher. I watched at first as he started doing simple, instinctive moves such as dives and banking turns. After a few minutes, I joined him in the sky, laughing.

"You call _that_ flying? Hold on tight and don't try this at home," I warned jokingly before veering away from him in a tight corkscrew, spiralling down in a sharp dive, and pulling up at the absolute last moment, touching the sand with my fingertips as I rocketed sideways and then back up in a loop.

Harry and I flew around the pitch and I watched as Harry carefully tried to copy some of the techniques I'd learned from my brothers. He was just getting the hang of a tight upward spiral when a voice rang out from belong.

"Hey, Potter! You and your friend better get down here."

I looked to Harry, knowing how Wood would react if he saw who I was.

"You're not even going to say hi to him?" Harry asked. I hoped that I invented the hurt sound in his voice as I shook my head.

"If he sees me, he'll tell McGonagall, who will tell Snape, who will tell Flint, who will be royally pissed at me. Just tell him that I'm a Ravenclaw or something, okay?"

"Alright..."

Leaving Harry behind, I flew right over the stands in the pitch, heading towards the castle as quickly as I could.

* * *

><p>"Potter's got a Nimbus 2000. He's got potential as a flier, but I can outmaneuver him easily," I murmured to Flint the next day at breakfast. He nodded at me appreciatively. "Wood will try to train him up some before the first game but there's not enough time for him to face me evenly. Next year, maybe, but they still can't beat our keeper."<p>

"Thanks, Cor," Sebastian chuckled from behind me. I glanced at him.

"Potter's got a Nimbus 2000."

"Yeah, I heard. I also heard Wood talking to Damien about a new fancy flier in Ravenclaw. Apparently she was flying with Harry last night but left before Wood could see her face."

"Weird," I shrugged before frowning. "Ravenclaw's match-up is the same as last year, right? So they don't have any real unknowns?" Sebastian nodded absently.

"I thought so too, but it's possible someone could have been getting some training in over the summer. Or it's someone who isn't on Ravenclaw's team." His voice was as calm as usual but his eyes, so much like my own, darted to me sharply so fast I doubted Flint had noticed. My blood ran cold.

"Probably the latter... I doubt someone on an opposing team would risk getting another player used to their tactics or have their moves copied."

"My thoughts exactly. For someone on a house team, it'd be stupid and pointless to help their opponent." Disappointment was thinly veiled in his words. _He knows it was me. _I forced myself not to wince. Instead, I nodded and turned to the first years, sitting next to Daphne as per usual.

"What was that about?" she whispered.

"Nothing," I murmured back. I still glanced back at Sebastian. He wasn't looking at me but I still felt like he could somehow see me. "It's nothing..."

* * *

><p>Though it was clear that Sebastian at least suspected me to have been the person flying with Harry, he hadn't mentioned it to anyone. Days passed without trouble and, after two weeks, I began to relax and enjoy the more pleasant changes around me.<p>

After Flint posted the Quidditch roster, it became clear that Snape had a point with Quidditch and my reputation. Not only was I the first girl on the team in over twenty years, but the fourth year I'd beaten out of the slot, Terence Higgs, lessened his loss by chatting me up to his classmates. He went so far as to say that, after seeing my tryout, he'd rescinded his own candidacy to ensure I wasn't passed up for an older student. This made for a loose alliance between the two of us; the better I did in the first Quidditch game, the better both of our reputations would be.

Thanks to Higgs, I was more formally introduced to some of the older Slytherins. I got recognized by some of the others not just as Bass's sister but the new seeker. I held more weight than the rest of the first years in the house, something that sent Pansy seething.

Pansy was easily ignored as I began to play the Slytherin game.

I tread a careful line in Potions and discovered that, if I subtly alerted Snape of a completely minor error, he'd only take a point or two off of Gryffindor. With those few points gone, I was better freed to drop hints to the rest of the class. Snape, already having gotten what he wanted, didn't question it unless I did something drastic. I couldn't force anyone to fix their mistakes or help them if a potion was only barely salvageable but I could prevent minor things here and there that, altogether, would have ruined a potion.

Daphne and Blaise were happy to be along for the ride. While I wouldn't exactly call Blaise a friend, he became a good ally. He knew of my odd- at least by Slytherin standards- interest in the Gryffindors and would occasionally tip me off if Draco was about to cause mischief. On the other hand, Daphne, as always, was a consistent ally and friend. She was able to talk her way out of anything and always seemed to pick up little bits of information for later use. She was with me from day one, when we sat together on the Hogwarts Express.

Sebastian seemed to forgive me but he didn't trust that no one would find out that I'd flown with Harry, an action that would be seen as treason to our housemates and trickery to the Gryffindors. With potential enemies on all sides, he began drilling me in hexes, making sure that I would be able to hold my own if it can to a fight. It was tiring and took more of my time than I wanted, but I knew that I shouldn't take those short lessons for granted. Sebastian was a fifth year, meaning he'd be taking OWLs this year. Between preparations for his OWLs, Quidditch, and his prefect duties, he had hardly any time to spare and he was more than generous to spend his free time helping me after I'd done so much against his advice.

My relationship with the Gryffindors, on the other hand, became more than a little strained. I was forced to avoid them more often than not, but we occasionally met at Hagrid's or in the library. Ron never let up on his suspicions of me but he stopped jumping at my throat every time I talked to Harry. I hadn't flown with Harry since the night of his first practice with Wood, but he seemed to understand well enough why I couldn't risk being caught by either Gryffindor or Slytherin house. Hermione-

"We've got to talk."

_Speak of the devil and he shall appear._

"Have you noticed that, in all the times you've found me here, neither one of us has ever started off by saying hello?" I asked, looking up at Hermione. At the look on her face, though, I frowned. Something serious was happening, something wrong or dangerous.

"Hello," Hermione said tersely, joining me at the library table. Strangely, she only had one book with her today. The book was clearly old and well-used. The leather was so worn, I couldn't even make out the words on the front cover. "We've got to talk."

"Hello. About what?"

"The third floor corridor," Hermione said, biting her lip anxiously. "We- Ron, Neville, Harry, and I- sort of got ourselves stuck there and you wouldn't believe what we saw."

She gave a hurried explanation about exactly _why_ they were sneaking around the castle so late and I looked at her incredulously.

"You mean that Harry and Ron actually went to face Draco? Draco's a Slytherin. Didn't they expect some sort of trick?"

"You're a Slytherin," Hermione pointed out.

"I don't have to lie to get what I want nine times out of ten. Draco can't do that, so he tries his best to manipulate his enemies. He's not very good at it yet, or at least that's what I thought. Honestly, I didn't think Harry would've taken the bait." I shook my head incredulously.

"Oh, there's more. Once we got inside the corridor, we found out why no one's allowed... There's a Cerberus in there, guarding a trap door. I don't know if the others found out anything, though. They won't tell me." Hermione's face fell, making me think that the boys tried their hardest not to tell her anything. She looked like she was about to cry.

"I'll see if I can do something," I said quickly, not wanting her to fall apart on me. "Tomorrow's Halloween, right? I'll catch them in the entrance hall before the Halloween feast and bully them into telling me what they know. That sound okay?"

"You'd do that?"

"Sure. I mean... We're friends, aren't we?" It was weird to openly admit a friendship. I grew up in a largely Slytherin and Ravenclaw family, meaning we were all a little distant from each other. It was strange for me to be as close as I was with my brothers and that was including the fact that I'd only said a dozen words or so to Damien since the start of term.

That seemed to do the trick, though. Hermione's face immediately brightened into a smile that, despite her rather large front teeth, made her seem less like a frizzy haired know-it-all and more like an actual person.

"Right," she confirmed happily before laughing quietly. "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone that you've got a _lion_ for a friend."

"And I won't tell anyone that you've been getting friendly with a snake," I promised back at her. She giggled happily before glancing around the library. A Hufflepuff- who I vaguely recognized as their house seeker, a third year- was sending us sidelong glances that betrayed his confusion. Hermione stilled very suddenly.

"Cor, that boy-"

"Will mind his business. He's a Hufflepuff, big on friendship and loyalty. He won't sell us out because that'll hurt all houses involved. But, I should get going. I promised Draco that I'd play him in wizarding chess."

"Malfoy?"

"It's better to be an ally than an enemy of someone like Draco," I said plainly, getting to my feet. "I'll see you around, Granger."

"Bye, Wyncrest."

Throwing my bag over my shoulder, I started on my way back to the Slytherin dungeon, readying myself to be brutally beaten at wizard chess. Malfoy was undefeated with the first three years of Slytherin with the game; it was almost unfair.

_Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer,_ I reminded myself.


	6. Chapter 6

Halloween was perfect until dinner.

I didn't earn any new enemies, Pansy and I had grudgingly ordered a ceasefire for the time being, and all of my classes went well. I didn't even fall asleep in History of Magic where, as a special surprise, we learned about the importance of Halloween for wizarding traditions instead of the never ending giant wars.

Actually, it all went downhill when I walked into the entrance hall even before the feast. I had been two steps away from what would have been a party to remember but, thanks to my damn selflessness, I didn't even enter the Great Hall. No. After I heard Lavender Brown and Pavarti Patil gossiping about how Hermione Granger had been crying in the bathroom since Charms, I was forced to make a decision.

"Go on," Daphne prodded patiently enough. "I'll cover for you with the others."

"Thanks." I really hope that every ounce of sincerity I tried to put into that one word was audible. Judging by Daphne's wry smile, I guessed that at least some of it was.

"Don't mention it." And she carried on into the Great Hall without me. I slipped away from the crowds, heading back up the stairs towards the girls' bathroom closest to the Charms classroom.

Grimacing as a foul smell filled the air, I cursed Peeves for what was undoubtedly his latest prank. Peeves would get a kick out of anything even mildly gross and _this_ was definitely on the nauseating end of the scale. Wrinkling my nose in disgust, I forced myself to keep walking towards the bathroom.

The second I was across the threshold, I knew I was in the right place. I could hear soft hiccoughing and sniffs originating from the farthest stall from the door and I sighed softly.

_Oh, Hermione._

"Go away!" the girl barked out, her voice almost broken, and I realized that my sigh was louder than I'd thought. I didn't back away. Instead, I walked calmly to the sinks and leaned against the one across from the stall Hermione was camped out in.

"Not likely, Hermione," I said, crossing my arms over my chest. Another sniff.

"Corinne?"

"Yes, I do think we're on a first name basis now." A weak laugh gave me the tiniest measure of relief. I couldn't standing tears. I'd grown up with two very competitive older brothers and learned fast that crying did nothing more than waste everyone's time. "But is that actually you, because the Hermione Granger _I_ know wouldn't miss class if she were on her deathbed."

"Are you just going to laugh at me too?" That brokenness had reappeared in her voice and I winced. Swallowing, I tried again, softer.

"Do you think I'd laugh at you? Have I given you a reason to think that I would?"

Hermione didn't respond aside from a particularly loud sniffle. I hesitated, trying to choose my words carefully for once.

"Look, I don't know what you heard but-"

"But what?" The stall door flew open and Hermione stormed out, hair frizzier than ever as she snarled at me. "It's not true? The last time I checked, it's pretty true!"

"What's true? That you don't have any friends?" I backed away from the girl quietly. Even if she was upset, even if she knew it wasn't true, it hurt. _I_ was her friend, wasn't I? "Then what am I, Hermione?"

Hermione cringed as if I'd hit her. I took another step away from her, guarded.

"Snape told me to avoid everyone in your house. Sebastian told me not to talk to you. Daphne said I had nothing to gain. Harry doesn't understand. Ron said he'd rather talk to _me_ than you. I can't tell Blaise that I've talked to you because he'd avoid me. Draco- Oh, just _imagine_ how he'd react! Are you telling me that I should have listened? Are you telling me that the past _two months_ was just a waste of both our time? Is that what you're telling me?!" I realized I was very nearly screaming and that Hermione's eyes were quickly filling with tears. She raised a hand towards me, reaching out, as I took another step back.

"No!" she said, eyes alit with desperation. "No! I didn't- I didn't mean-... What could I say to them, Cor? I can't talk about you to them. They wouldn't believe anyone would bother, let alone you!"

"Me? Why?" I asked sharply. "Because I'm just another snake?"

"No," Hermione answered quickly. "Because you're _you_! You don't know how intimidating you are to everyone else! You're the most dangerous person I know!"

"So I'm dangerous now?"

Hermione opened her mouth to respond but her face froze in horror. My eyes widened as I realized that the terrible smell had very suddenly gotten much stronger, much _closer_. Hermione's hand flew to her mouth.

"T-T-"

I very slowly turned my head, shaking. Standing just a few yards away, between me and the door, was a full grown mountain troll, club raised to strike. The door slammed shut behind the troll and I heard it lock, trapping us with the troll.

I wasn't sure which of the two of us screamed louder as the troll swung its club directly at me. I dove to the side, rolling hard on my side. The pain in my ribs was much less than what I'd have felt if the troll had hit me, however, so I resisted the grimace that came with the new ache. I stared almost numbly as his club was lodged into the shattered remains of a ceramic sink.

"Cor!" Hermione screamed. The troll wasn't interested in me any longer. It secured its beady little eyes on Hermione. The muggleborn had no escape route, forcing her to cower in the corner, just waiting for the inevitable, as the troll meandered towards her, smashing each of the sinks in his path.

"Hermione!" I shouted. Fear was forgotten to adrenaline and anger. Hermione was _my_ friend. I wasn't going to let anything hurt her and a mountain troll was no exception. I whipped out my wand, darting closer to the stalls as I ran through the jinxes Sebastian had taught me. "_Locomotor Mortis_!"

The troll grunted as it's legs snapped together, sending the troll toppling down, losing hold of his club as it went flying behind him, landing with a crash a few yards to my left. The moment he slammed into the tiled floor, however, he was able to move again and tripping didn't seem to concern or slow him very much.

"_Flipendo_!" The jinx sent the troll stumbling once more, smashing him against the few remaining sinks. "Hermione, run!"

The Gryffindor scrambled over to me, trying to get away from the troll before it regained its senses. As she passed by the troll, a light gleamed in her eyes as she spotted the troll's fallen weapon.

"Hermione!"

"Corinne?"

"Nice of you to join us, boys," I grumbled. Hermione paid them no attention, though. Instead, she drew her wand.

"_Wingardium leviosa_!" she called, flicking her wand out at the weapon. The club wavered before shooting into the air. At Hermione's direction, it hovered over the troll's head as he struggled to stand, the broken sinks and piping slowing him down tremendously. Releasing the spell, Hermione and the rest of us only watched as gravity and momentum brought the club crashing down, right on top of the troll's round head. With a loud _crack_, the troll's eyes rolled back and he fell back against the broken sinks, lying very still.

"Is it dead?" Ron asked quietly. I shook my head.

"That's a mountain troll," I said softly. "I doubt that did much more than knock it out and give it a throbbing headache."

"How'd you know about the troll? Neither of you were at dinner," Ron frowned.

"What were you doing here?" Harry asked, looking to me just as a door slammed, grabbing my attention.

"I could ask precisely the same thing, Mr. Potter!" McGonagall all but roared. Snape was not far behind her, Quirrell cowering in his shadow. She was angrier than I'd ever seen, clenched fists shaking and as pale as the Bloody Baron. "What on earth were you thinking of? You're lucky you weren't killed! Why aren't you in your dormitory?"

"Professor, it was my fault," Hermione said quietly. I stared at her incredulously.

"No, it's not!" I interrupted her, looking to McGonagall. She was a reasonable witch. She'd understand that it was bad luck more than anything, even if I had to embellish the truth a little to downplay exactly why I was there. "In the Great Hall before dinner, I overheard some of the other first years saying that Hermione had disappeared after Charms. Hermione and I study together most nights in the library so I got worried and started looking for her. This was the first place I checked since I can't get into the Gryffindor common room and I doubt anyone would let me in or check to see if she was there for me."

McGonagall's lips thinned.

"Professor, Corinne saved my life," Hermione said. "It tried to attack her first but she rolled out of the way. When it went after me, she could have left but she stayed and tried different hexes on it to try to stop it from getting to me."

"Not that they worked," I muttered. Hermione looked sharply at me.

"That _flipendo_ let me get out of the corner. You saved me. And Harry and Ron tried helping once they realized that I was trapped in here," Hermione said to the transfiguration teacher. McGonagall was silent for a long moment before turning to Snape.

"Do you have anything to say about this, Severus?" Her voice was a warning.

"Miss Wyncrest, I believe we've spoken about your hero complex on more than one occasion thus far. I believe detention this Thursday will be sufficient time to allow for the details of that conversation haven't seemed to stick."

"Yes, sir."

"And twenty points to Slytherin, I think, for your fast acting to come to Miss Granger's aid." It wasn't a reward but I nodded like it was, relieved that I'd only gotten one detention.

"I still say you were lucky, but not many first years could have taken on a full grown mountain troll. You each win five points for Gryffindor. Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this. You four may go."

I didn't need to be told twice. The moment we were out of earshot, though, I groaned.

"Snape is going to skin me alive and throw me in the lake," I sighed mournfully. "That'll be the detention. I've decided."

"What was he talking about with your hero complex?" Ron asked curiously. Hermione glanced at him, still rather peeved at him. He, after all, was the reason we all got into this mess.

"Helping Neville in potions, continuing to help everyone else in potions, saving Neville's life during flying lessons, saving me from a troll," she listed dryly.

"Huh... When she puts it that way, you're kind of alright," Ron realized. Then, blinking, he backtracked. "For a Slytherin, anyway."

"Oh, I just feel the love, Weasley," I scoffed, rolling my eyes. I didn't mean it though. I'd take Ron partially accepting then suspecting ulterior motives any day of the week. "But, yeah. I'm actually a bit of a saint, really."

"And humble too," Ron said, cracking a smile. Harry looked between us, brow furrowed in confusion.

"When did those two become best of friends?" he asked Hermione quietly. She shrugged.

"About twenty seconds ago, I think," she murmured back.

"Oi, I can hear the both of you!"

Ron and I blinked before staring at each other.

"I said it first. No! I did. No, me! Shut up! It was me! Stop that!" I glared at Ron and he glared right back. Then, the corner of his mouth twitched and we both started laughing.

"This is stranger than when they couldn't stand each other," Harry muttered.

* * *

><p>It was the day after Halloween when I realized exactly what Hermione had meant when she had called me the most dangerous person she knew. Sitting in the Slytherin common room, retelling the story of how I had faced down a mountain troll and defeated it using little more than my wits and some second year hexes, I <em>was<em> dangerous.

"So Granger is there, cowering helplessly and trying to hide behind a sink- a _sink_, of a things- to defend herself from a twelve foot mountain troll. I couldn't just let her die, though, so I jump in and hit the troll with a leg-locker curse. It sent the troll sprawling to the ground, but it didn't go down that easily. I had to go around to the side of the troll and hit it with a knockback jinx that sent it flying into the wall. That gave Granger enough room to finally get into gear and get out of the way. A quick levitation charm lifted the club over its head and the troll didn't know what hit him. It passed out just in time for Potter and Weasley to come parading in, acting like heroes. They were lucky McGonagall was there with Snape otherwise they'd be in detention for the next month."

"Aren't you in detention tomorrow?" Blaise asked dryly, not actively trying to diminish my story.

"Blaise, you're killing me. It's bad enough that I had to fight a twelve foot troll on my own to save a _Gryffindor_. Don't rub salt in the wound and just remember that I'll get my revenge at the Quidditch pitch come Saturday."

I grinned even as the returning grins were not-so-nice.

I was dangerous because I was the top-first year. Sure, I found myself being forced to twist the scenario with the troll so that it didn't appear that Hermione and I were friends and hated that, but I was in charge. Not even Draco, with his family name and father's money, could steal the spotlight from me. He made a show to the other houses that I deferred to him but, at the end of the day, he knew as well as the other first years who ran the show now.

I played the Slytherin game and I was damn good at it.


	7. Chapter 7

Detention was nothing more than a glorified smack on the wrist. As my punishment, Snape had me reorganized the older potions books that had been left a mess by the older students, an opportunity that let me sift through some of the more advanced potions, and then ensure that all of the potions ingredients in the classroom cupboards were properly labeled. As someone who'd literally grown up around potions, it was a breeze and I finished in plenty of time, allowing me to participate in the last minute practice Flint had thrown together.

The Saturday of the game came very quickly. I woke up early, as per usual, but this time I waited in the common room for the rest of the Quidditch team to emerge so we would all walk to the Great Hall and sit together. A united front, if you like.

As I sat between my brother and one of the Chasers, Adrian Pucey, I felt more excited than anything else. Harry, as much as I liked him as a friend, just wasn't a match for me in the sky yet. This game would probably end up being the easiest of the year for me, seeing as the other seekers- Diggory and Chang- were both older and more experienced at seeking for their house and working with their team. The Slytherin team, however, had a winning streak to keep up. With that incentive, no one argued if Flint trained us into the ground. We were a well oiled machine.

I can't describe how important I felt sliding on those green robes. I was the first girl to be on the team in over twenty years and the youngest seeker chosen for Slytherin in over fifty years. I was special.

"Alright," Flint called around the locker room, getting silence almost immediately as we huddled up. "You all know how this works. We go out there and we win. We've got a great team with some of the best players I've seen in my six years of being here. I expect the best because that's what I know you'll give me and give your house.

"Now let's get out there and do this!" With a sort of battle roar that quickly spread throughout the Slytherin team, I found myself snatching up my broom and jogging up behind Sebastian, blinking in the bright sunlight before my eyes adjusted.

The stadium was absolutely packed. Everyone was sitting in the stands, segregated into red, green, blue, and yellow, and roaring at the top of their lungs for their preferred team or player. I knew that my Gryffindor friends would save all of their cheering for Harry, but I was happy to see who I thought was Daphne and Blaise holding up a huge poster with my name embellished in green on a giant silver snitch.

We met the Gryffindor team in the middle and I grinned at the opposing side. There was Oliver Wood, the Weasley twins, Harry, Damien, and two female Chasers whose faces I couldn't connect to the names Johnson or Bell to just yet.

"Now," Madame Hooch, who would be referring, began. "I want a good clean game out of all of you... Mount your brooms please." Everyone, Hooch included, got onto their brooms with varying levels of grace. Then, with a sharp blow on her silver whistle, the quaffle was released and the game begun.

I flew straight up, leaning close to my broom as I gained altitude, vaguely aware of the rest of the team splitting off into formation.

"And the game's begun! The quaffle is immediately taken by Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor- what an excellent chaser that girl is, and rather attractive too-"

"JORDAN!" I didn't know the commentator, but I'd recognize McGonagall's shriek from anywhere.

"Sorry, Professor... And she's really belting up along there; a neat pass to Katie Bell. The quaffle's back to Johnson and- no, the Slytherins have taken the quaffle."

_Real impartial commentator they've got..._

"Slytherin Captain Marcus Flint gains the quaffle and off he goes, flying like an eagle up there. He's going to sc- No, stopped by an excellent- No! The quaffle is snatched from Katie Bell back into Slytherin hands. Adrian Pucey goes in for the shot and- no!- Slytherin makes the first score, bringing the score to Slytherin 10, Gryffindor 0."

The game processed in a similar fashion as I kept a close eye on Harry while looking for the snitch. Flint decided that I shouldn't try to catch it until we had a comfortable lead- seventy or eighty points at least- but I couldn't let Harry catch it in the meantime.

"Pucey, blocked by a bludger headed his way, drops the quaffle. Gryffindor in possession, Katie Bell rocketing off towards the Slytherin goals. Flint dives to snatch but oh, he's missed! Bell goes for the shot and-! Slytherin Keeper Sebastian Wyncrest blocks the shot. Slytherin chaser Graham Montague in possession, passes off to Flint- Pass is intercepted by Gryffindor's Damien Wyncrest! Damien- _I have to call him by his first name, Professor! There're three Wyncrests in this game_!- takes his shot and- GRYFFINDOR SCORES! Game is tied, 10 all!"

I resisted the urge to grimace. Sebastian wouldn't be happy about that later. Glancing his way, I could see that he wasn't very happy about it now. Damien was all but taking a victory lap around the goalposts, only rubbing salt in the wound.

And people wondered why Slytherins and Gryffindors rarely get along.

A flash of gold. I dived but not towards the snitch.

"Corrine Wyncrest, Slytherin seeker, take a sharp dive. Has she seen the snitch?"

No, but Jordan didn't need to know that. All that he needed to know was that Harry's attention was firmly locked on me now, ensuring that he wouldn't catch sight of the snitch. I pulled out of the dive after just a few moments and flew back up towards Harry in a banking spiral.

"Not letting you get it just by staring at me the whole game, Harry," I grinned. Harry looked a bit pale though. I caught sight of a fast approaching bludger and I cried out, surprised, and rolled out of the bludger's flight path. Harry didn't get away so neatly but one of the Weasleys smacked it out of the way just before it hit him.

"Alright there, Harry?" he shouted before glaring at me. "Watch out for the snake!"

And then he was gone, leaving Harry looking at me almost apologetically.

"Don't worry about it. It'll be worth it when Slytherin takes home the Quidditch Cup for the eighth year in a row," I grinned. Harry opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by a massive bout of cheering from the green quarter of the stands.

"Flint scores, bringing the score to Slytherin 60, Gryffindor 20 thanks to a sleazy- _Alright!_- a underhanded-"

"Jordan!"

"A perfectly _almost_ legal move carried out by Slytherin team captain Flint!" Jordan finished bitterly. I grinned at Harry and gave a mock salute before heading back towards the other side of the field to search for the snitch.

Slytherin scored. Slytherin again. Gryffindor. Slytherin.

The better Slytherin played, the more biased Jordan's commentating grew. I was tempted to convince Sebastian to try and peg Jordan with the quaffle the next time it was in his grasp but, just as I started drifting towards the Slytherin posts, I spotted the flash of light near the sand at the base of the Gryffindor goals. I glanced to Harry. He wasn't even looking, absorbed by the fast paced game. I flew towards the Gryffindor side slowly, not wanting to seem like I had a particular direction about it. My saving grace actually came when a stray bludger flew too close, giving me a reason to dive out of the way, gaining momentum faster and faster and hurtling towards the ground, eyes locking on that glint of gold.

"The Slytherin seeker dives again! Another feint? No! Is that the snitch?!"

_Yes, it is, Jordan. Yes. It. Is._

Harry was initially closer to the snitch than I was, but he couldn't hit a fast enough speed quickly enough to intercept as the snitch was ten, seven, four feet away from me. I held out my hand and it veered sharply to the right. My fingers brushed against it but I couldn't close my hand around it.

I pulled back sharply, dragging my foot in the sand to anchor me as I spun. Flinging myself so that I faced the right direction, I watched as the snitch flittered just a little higher than I was. I reached out to grab it but I could see Harry behind it.

Something was wrong with Harry's broom. His hands were gripping his broom so tightly that his knuckles were white and I could see his broom jerking, trying to rise even as he tried to steady it.

I snatched the golden snitch out of the air.

"Wyncrest has caught the Golden Snitch. Slytherin earns 150 points, ending the game at Slytherin 260, Gryffindor 30." There was no excitement in Jordan's voice but the Slytherin side more than made up for it in cheers. I didn't pay them much attention even as my teammates started flying towards me. I flew to Harry's side but he was frowning, puzzled.

"Are you alright? Your broom looked like it was trying to throw you," I commented, concerned. Harry shook his head.

"I don't know... That's never happened before."

"Harry, leave Cor alone." I was shocked to turn and see Damien staring at me, his grey eyes possessing none of the warmth I was used to see in them. "She knew your broom was acting up and still caught the snitch. She's Slytherin through and through."

"Isn't she your sister, Damien?" Harry asked, taken aback. Damien scowled.

"I don't have a sister, not anymore... Let's get back to the others. I'm sure Flint'll love to hear how cold Cor's gotten when it comes to a game. He could have been in real danger, _sis_. Guess you really don't care." Turning his back on me, Damien flew off towards the Gryffindor team.

Harry looked at me and froze, startled. I guessed he'd never even seen me close to crying. Well, too late to keep that going.

"Well." My voice broke and I swallowed, turning my head away. "He's right. You should go."

"Cor, it wasn't your fault."

"Just go!" I turned on a dime, flying as fast as I could away from the stadium.

For a girl who'd just caught the snitch, I didn't feel like I'd won much at all.

* * *

><p>"I'm going to kill him." I tried not to believe Sebastian when I finally entered the locker room. He took one look at my reddened eyes and, uncharacteristically losing his cool, punched a locker so hard I thought I heard a <em>crack<em>. "What did he say to you?"

"It's nothing." We both knew I was lying.

"What did he say, Cor?"

"... Potter's broom was being messed with... He was being sabotaged and I _knew_ that, but I still went for the snitch... He said I cared more about the game than I did about Harry's life."

"That's not it," Sebastian said. I was worried he'd punch another locker. I looked at the ground. _He's not right. It's not true._

"He said I wasn't his sister anymore." My voice was so quiet that I hardly heard it but, judging by the angry snarl that escaped Sebastian, he heard it just fine. He stormed into the main area, where the rest of the team was.

"Bass, what's wrong?" I heard Flint ask carefully. Sebastian said something quickly, under his breath, that I couldn't make out but I doubted it was very nice. I peered in through the doorway to find Sebastian and Flint surrounded by the other guys, all exchanging dangerous looks. Sebastian looked back at me.

"Don't worry, sis. We'll make Wood keep his dog on a tighter leash." I didn't like the sound of that or the way the others were grinning.

"Bass, you don't-"

"No, Cor," Sebastian interrupted sharply. He was at my side in an instant, his hands resting comfortingly on my shoulders. Flint stepped closer, his eyes serious.

"You're not just Bass's little sister now. This team is your family and no one here'll let anyone hurt you, especially not a Gryffindor and _especially_ someone who should have had your back on principle. We don't abandon our own."

"Bass... Guys... " Even though I knew it couldn't be the right thing, I couldn't help but smile softly as I looked around the team. "They're not worth... _He's_ not worth it."

"We all know that," Flint said, cracking his neck. "We just have to remind _them_ of that little fact."

* * *

><p>"Cor."<p>

"Go away, Potter." I stared into my bubbling potion intently. Snape would descend upon Harry as soon as he was done insulting Neville's improperly crushed garlic cloves. I just had to wait it out.

"No. About what Damien said after the game-"

"It's not important."

"It was to you," Harry pointed out. I looked up from my potion long enough to glare at him. "... He got a letter before breakfast that didn't stop yelling at him until breakfast was almost over. It woke up everyone in the dorm."

"A howler," I murmured. Harry nodded.

"Neville called it that... Apparently it was from your mum. Something about getting letters from your six other brothers. I thought you only had Sebastian and Damien?"

"The Slytherin team," I realized, smiling before wiping the expression off of my face. "You might want to stay away from Damien for the next few weeks whenever possible... I told Sebastian what happened and he told the rest of the team."

"So now they're going to target Damien?" Harry was almost angry sounding but I ceased to care as a tall shadow fell across us.

"Potter, can you explain to me why you are bothering Miss Wyncrest's diligent watch while you abandon your own cauldron to the likes of Weasley?" Harry clenched his fist but I doubted that Snape could see it. "Well, boy?"

"Just congratulating her on the game last Saturday, sir," Harry ground out. He looked to me, his green eyes sincere. "She did some spectacular flying."

"Perhaps you can ask for an autograph or lessons later, Potter. Get back to your potion." Harry scurried off at the order, probably glad that there hadn't been any points taken off. Snape studied me carefully before going off to criticize Lavender Brown's work.


	8. Chapter 8

"Granger, congratulations. You're my new partner," I said as dryly as I could manage upon walking into Potions, walking directly to the Gryffindors. Seamus Finnegan, the boy who'd accidentally gotten Neville to ruin that cure for boils weeks ago, scowled, stepping closer.

"You've already got a partner," he growled. I rolled my eyes.

"Blaise is out for the next few days with a severe concussion and Professor Snape has already approved my choice given that there's no one else capable enough in this class."

"That stings, Cor," Daphne, sitting next to Draco, drawled.

"Let me rephrase. Granger is the only one who doesn't have a regular partner that isn't a complete mess at Potions."

"Better," Daphne hummed, unconcerned. "Careful you don't catch fleas or something from them. We're sleeping in the same room till end of term."

Hermione, having seen Daphne often enough in the library, knew better than to take her words to heart but Ron and Harry bristled angrily. Hermione waved them off and followed me back to an empty lab table.

It wasn't until after Snape had appeared, taken a few points off of Gryffindor, and started the class on the Forgetfulness Potion that we would be making today that I had an opportunity to really talk to Hermione.

"Don't crush the mistletoe berries too finely," I warned before dropping my voice. "What are you doing over the holidays?"

"I know," Hermione chirped before replying quietly. "Probably just going to spend it with my parents. Nothing big, why?"

"Aside from a Christmas gala we always attend, my family is spending most of the holiday at our home in the States and I'm allowed to invite a couple of friends."

"So you're inviting me? What about Daphne or Blaise?" Hermione asked in a murmur. I shrugged.

"They'll both be at the Malfoy's Christmas Masque, not to mention that I see plenty of them here. I thought I would ask you and Harry to come with me."

"Not Ron?" Hermione didn't seem too disappointed. I shook my head.

"If I invite Ron, his family will know. I might as well announce it at tomorrow's breakfast. The only reason I'm even considering this is because Damien already decided that he has better things than be part of the family."

"It can't be that bad," Hermione frowned. I grimaced.

"Trust me on this, Hermione... It can be and it is... So what do you say? The grand library is one of the largest in the States," I prodded. Hermione smiled brightly.

"You know me well, Cor. I'll write my parents," she whispered before returning her attention back to the potion in front of us.

After potions, I already had an excuse to walk with Hermione thanks to Snape who had assigned, to nobody's surprise, an essay on the properties of mistletoe in the forgetfulness potion.

Our way to dinner, however, had a rather significant snag in the shape of a very large fir tree taking up much of the entrance hall. Hagrid was doing his best to tug the tree into the Great Hall but wasn't getting much success.

"Hi, Hagrid. Want any help?" Ron offered. I wasn't sure what he thought he could do to help. The fir was almost massive; I wondered if the tree had come from the Forbidden Forest since I hadn't seen any so large anywhere else on the grounds.

"Nah, I'm alright. Thanks, Ron," Hagrid replied, his voice a little breathy from exertion. I tensed slightly at a familiar scoff behind us.

"Would you mind moving out of the way?" Draco drawled in exasperation. "Are you trying to earn some extra money, Weasley? Hoping to be gameskeeper yourself when you leave Hogwarts, I suppose. That hut of Hagrid's must seem like a palace compared to-"

_United front._

"Oh, Draco, don't even bother with them," I said, rolling my eyes as I walked over to him, linking arms. "There are some cases even _we_ can't help, sad though they are. Best to leave Weasley to his own sad little life."

Draco looked pleased and didn't do much more than nod. He failed to see the strained smile I sent to the trio of Gryffindors. As we passed Snape on our way out, I was glad Ron hadn't had an opportunity to do anything. His hot head was going to get him in real trouble if he wasn't careful.

* * *

><p>I separated myself from Draco in the small crowd of Slytherins milling about our common room and darted back upstairs. Hermione had mentioned going to the library earlier and I wasn't going to miss an opportunity to talk to my friends.<p>

By the time I'd gotten to the library, the three were already at the door, preparing to leave for lunch.

"Very safe, seeing as they're both dentists," Hermione was saying. When she caught sight of me, her eyes brightened as if she'd had a brilliant idea. Then, as I got closer, she lightly smacked her own forehead in exasperation. "Of course!"

"Easy there, Granger. No need for head trauma," I teased lightly. "What's going on?"

"You know a lot about the wizarding world, right, Cor?" I was immediately on my guard. We didn't often talk about the outside world for good reason. She was a muggleborn, I was next in line to a generous fortune. Our friendship's days could be numbered and that was a fact neither of us liked to admit.

"I have to," I acknowledged. "Dad made sure all of us- Bass, Damien, and I- knew how to handle ourselves."

"So is the name Nicolas Flamel familiar?" Hermione asked excitedly. I raised an eyebrow, wondering how she'd stumbled upon _that_ name.

"Of course it is. Any potions student worth their salt knows that name. Flamel and his wife revolutionized potioneering and alchemy. Without them, we wouldn't know half of what we do about potions."

"So he was a potions master?" Harry frowned.

"That doesn't help us," Ron grumbled. "And I thought we would keep this to ourselves, Hermione?"

"I trust Corinne," Hermione said sternly. "She won't tell her housemates... But it's not safe for us to talk about it here."

"Abandoned classroom?" I asked, gesturing down the hall. At a nod from the muggleborn, I led the trio down the hall, stopping at a partially open door. Knocking quietly, I opened the door to discover that the room, as I suspected, was abandoned. I ushered the three inside before closing the door behind me. "So what's this about?"

"Do you remember what I told you about the Cerberus?" Hermione asked, ignoring Ron's grumbled protests. Uneasy friendship or not, Ron clearly didn't trust me as far as he could throw me.

"Of course I do."

"Well, we went to talk to Hagrid about it and _he_ said that what Fluffy- the Cerberus- was guarding was between Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel," Hermione summarized quickly. I frowned.

"The only... Wait. _Dumbledore_ and Flamel? Then it's got to be- No way they're keeping it here," I muttered to myself, eyes drifting away as my thoughts raced ahead of me. "They couldn't have- Flamel and his wife _need_ to keep it close to them or else-"

"What are you going on about?" Ron asked impatiently and I honed in on him, eyes not leaving his face until he shifted uncomfortably.

"I'm _going on_ about the Philosopher's Stone, Weasley. Flamel revolutionized alchemy and potioneering through his creation of the world's first true Philosopher's Stone. Imagine a little rock, probably about the size of your fist, with the power to turn any metal to gold and create an elixir so strong it can heal any wound and prolong life indefinitely."

"Long life," Hermione was muttering before she stared up at me in realization. "That's why we couldn't find him! We've been looking at _recent_ discoveries."

"That wouldn't get you anywhere. Flamel and his wife have been around for centuries," I said, shaking my head before freezing. "How come you three are going so deep into this? If the Stone is here at the school, then Dumbledore is keeping it under lock and key. That Cerberus won't be the only thing keeping it safe, especially since they're all bark and no bite with the proper handling. There'll be traps and failsafes no one but Dumbledore would be able to get through."

"What about a professor, though?" Harry said. Or, as I studied him, let slip.

"You think a professor's trying to steal it? Who?"

"It's gotta be Snape," Ron said under his breath. I shook my head at him.

"You might not like him, but he's not a bad guy... There's got to be something else involved, a facet to the story we can't see yet."

Neither Ron nor Harry looked convinced.


	9. Chapter 9

"Corinne Lisbetta Wyncrest!" I winced in unison with my friends as my full name was all but growled at me. I shrunk back as my mother wrapped her arms around me in an oppressive hug. "Would it have killed you to write your poor mama a letter every now and then?"

"I wrote to you at least once a week, Mama," I grumbled, trying in vain to struggle free from Lady Armynth Wyncrest's arms. Armynth, affectionately known as Mynt to her close friends and family, was never quite as domestic or frail as society desired. Despite being the head of one of the few matriarchal families in Great Britain, Mynt was also an accomplished potions mistress who, after I turned eight, decided that it was time that she start working outside of her home again. She and one of her more distant cousins began an apothecary that expanded over the past few years to boast six locations and just under fifty employees. In the grand scheme of things, it wasn't a large accomplishment but she proved that being wealthy and being a productive member of society weren't totally exclusive of each other.

"Mynt, dear, I'm quite sure Corinne has suffered enough," a familiar teasing voice quipped. My mother released me and I caught sight of my father standing behind her. Jason Wyncrest was not a man to be underestimated despite his greying brown hair and almost scrawny appearance. Though he was beginning to age, that was only a testament to his skill and persistence, something his stormy cobalt blue eyes- eyes that Sebastian and I had inherited- showed. Few Unspeakables lived to see forty-two birthdays.

I was never quite sure what my father worked on. When I was younger, he had been less hesitant to tell me about rooms holding whole fountains of Amortentia or shelves of dusty prophecies. The only project I definitely knew that he worked on was an ongoing case on ley lines and natural magic, a case I intimately knew.

"Mama, I _did_ miss you but I really need to breathe," I said breathlessly. Mynt released me with an impatient light in her grey eyes as if it were _my_ fault that I needed a steady supply of oxygen. "Oh, Mama, Daddy, I'd like you to meet my friends. This is Hermione Granger and Harry Potter."

"It's so good to meet my little bird's friends," Mynt smiled brightly before hugging Hermione tightly. "You must be the little lion that's been challenging my girl in Potions."

"I- Uhm-"

"It's alright, dearie. My little bird needs a good rival." I should have known that my mother wouldn't wait until clearing the platform before embarrassing me.

"Mama! Hermione isn't my rival. She's my friend."

"Friend, eh? And Mr. Potter too?" Jason's eyes were turned to Harry who was steadily reddening. I scowled.

"Yes, Daddy. Harry is my friend as well. Can we please get going? I don't want to see Draco until the Masque."

"That will prove difficult seeing as your mother deemed it fit to accept an invitation to dine with the Malfoy family," Jason sighed.

"Mama," I groaned, not missing the look Hermione and Harry exchanged. "I thought we had agreed that I would find an agreement with Draco that didn't end with... _that_."

"You've put yourself in a position your father and I didn't expect, my little bird," Mynt said gently. "You've caught the Lord Malfoy's eye and that is something no one in this family can safely ignore."

"Mother." I all but jumped at Sebastian's voice behind me. I turned to see his features forced into blankness. "This is neither the time or the place for this discussion. We are all here."

"Oh, Bass!" Mynt smiled brightly, hugging him briefly. "I daresay you've gotten taller since August! In any case, you're right. Jason, would you take the boys?"

"Sebastian, Harry." Jason held out his arm and Sebastian gripped our father's elbow, leaving Harry staring in confusion at the hand extended towards him.

"Grab tight and close your eyes," Sebastian said curtly. Harry looked at him almost warily and I didn't blame him. Sebastian was being rude for no discernable reason. Even so, Harry did not argue when my father grasped Harry's wrist. Hermione followed my lead as I linked arms with my mother. I closed my eyes just in time to feel like I was being pulled through a water faucet.

The nausea passed after a long moment, leaving me winded. I was far better off than my friends, though; Harry was on his knees and Hermione was very pale, clinging to my mother as her knees buckled.

"Side along apparition," my mother said gently, brushing a strand of hair away from Hermione's face. "The first time's always the hardest, dearie. We won't have to do that for a while yet, though, if that's any consolation."

"Apparition?" Harry gasped into the gravel. I nodded, kneeling next to him and laying a hand on his shoulder.

"The Muggles call it teleportation," I murmured. "Look up."

When Harry was recovered enough to obey, he looked up and gasped.

We were no longer in the crowded platform. Instead, we were situated on a long gravel driveway that, just a few yards away, led to an elegantly built but modern house that could only be described as a mansion. Built on the edge of a cliff, the house was built in sloping curves and harsh diagonals carved in pale blue and purple crystalline glass and white-grey marble. From our distance, it seemed to boast just two stories but I knew better. The house was built into the cliff, having an additional five floors built into the cliff face, technically underground but facing the grey-blue sea beyond the cliff.

Along the gravel driveway were massive deciduous and evergreen trees- maples, oaks, and birches that melted into equally old firs, hollies, and yews. I knew that, if we stayed long enough, deer would approach the path, strolling along unafraid through the fenced in property. No Muggle hunter would disturb the fauna in the area thanks to the charms and wards built into the property lines.

"We never get snow here," I told to Harry and Hermione as the Muggleborn witch joined me at Harry's side, "but my family has celebrated Christmas on this property for over seventy years. You'll see why in a few days; the Yule isn't far away."

"Naia," my mother called. With a _crack_, the young house elf appeared next to us on the path. Harry and Hermione both recoiled away from the creature and it occurred to me that neither had seen a house elf. "Please see to it that Sebastian and Corrine's belongings are stowed away properly."

"And the guests, ma'am?" Naia asked respectfully. My mother looked to the two thoughtfully.

"Take Harry Potter's trunk to the blue room and Hermione Granger's to the sea room," Mynt decided. I grinned as Naia nodded obediently and vanished with a crack, our trunks disappearing with her. The sea room was the guest room closest to mine. "Cor, I trust you will show Harry and Hermione to their rooms."

"Yes, Mama." I turned to my friends with a grin. "I have so much to show you; the library, the greenrooms, the labs-"

"Make sure you steer clear of my office, Corinne," my father warned me seriously.

"And the lower lab, and Sebastian's room, and Damien's room," I smiled, counting off the rooms company was not allowed into, even most family. "I remember."

"Good girl. Off you get," he chuckled.

"Come on!"

* * *

><p>I gave Harry and Hermione the grand tour, taking them from the potions lab and study that had become mine when I'd been enrolled at Hogwarts to the regulation Quidditch pitch situated a short walk from the main house. I introduced Harry and Hermione to the house elves in my family's employ, Naia and her parents Shanti and Khian. I had shown Hermione the grand library, where each shelf was charmed to automatically sort each book by genre, author, then title and a master list of all tomes was kept up to date by a long forgotten spell.<p>

I led the two through a tour of every nook and cranny I knew of in the house, a tour that was interrupted when my mother called us to dinner when I was showing Harry and Hermione how to access the secret slide that led from the greenhouse to the first of several labs in the lowest level of the house.

Dinner was carefully cheery but, despite myself, I kept glancing over to the empty seat at the table that was reserved for my brother.

_Damien..._


	10. Chapter 10

The morning of the Yule Festival, I made sure that I woke up especially early. Neither Harry or Hermione had been part of an old celebration like the Yule and, even though this would only be my second year participating, I'd been going to the Festival since I could walk. It was my duty to explain what was expected of them, how to dress, and such.

"Do you know why this tradition is so important?" I asked my friends as I led them through the woods, past the Quidditch pitch. Hermione, as always, had an answer prepared.

"I read in Hogwarts, a History that the school used to have a festival to celebrate renewal... There wasn't really anything else about it though."

"That's because," I said, "wizarding culture is changing rapidly. You can't see it like the old families, but there have been so many changes in the last twenty years or so that change how we live, how we work, and how we celebrate. A lot of old traditions, such as the Yule, have been banned from places like Hogwarts because of a perceived Dark nature to the holiday."

"Is it because of Voldemort?" Harry asked, brow furrowing when I shuddered at the name. He backtracked. "You-Know-Who?"

"Largely... It was happening before that, though. Old traditions began to lose their meaning when Muggleborns became more accepted in society, though to no offense on their part," I said, glancing to Hermione. "Muggleborns, who weren't educated in the old ways, didn't understand the importance of things like Yule and Samhain so they didn't teach it to their children. Over time, only the pure blooded families celebrated the old holidays."

"Why didn't they just teach the old traditions at school?" Hermione asked. I shrugged.

"They used to, according to my dad. The problem with that is that it isn't always safe to celebrate the old traditions... Last year was my first time participating in the Yule and... well, it didn't go very well.

"The Yule Festival renews and strengthens our core, the source of all our magical ability, in preparation for the growth of spring. The reason why only certain places are appropriate for the Yule, however, has to do with ley lines."

"Ley lines?" Harry asked. Hermione frowned, evidently at a loss for answers.

"Ley lines are ancient channels of natural magic, wild and untamed energy, that flow through the earth. Sometimes these lines intersect, making an area especially sensitive or conducive to magic. Hogwarts, for example, was built on the intersection of four ley lines- four founders, four houses, four ley lines."

"So... What happens on Yule with the ley lines?" Hermione asked. I smiled tightly, keeping my eyes locked on the path ahead.

"The natural magic spills out, just a little. Usually, it splinters away from itself, losing strength before choosing various people to be hosts. The host to the natural magic, for as long as the magic stays, can perform extraordinary magicks, spells that were normally beyond their reach. Sometimes, though, the magic stays together. It finds the one person in the group with the most sensitivity to ley lines, an ability called ley link, and throws all of the natural magic into them."

"That happened you to?" Hermione asked softly. I nodded.

"Yes... Last year was my first time in a traditional festival so I had no warning as to what was happening. Ley links are rare, almost as rare as parselmouths or true Seers, and there hasn't been a ley link in my family for centuries. We were unprepared and, when the magic rushed into me, I couldn't control it. Things happened so quickly but all I could hear was the wind howling in my ears..." I realized that my shoulders were shaking and I did all I could to stop them. "I blacked out... When I came to, we were at St. Mungo's, the hospital. My magical core was nearly drained and I'd nearly killed my father."

"What happened?" Harry asked. It hurt to remember so I gave him an outside opinion.

"The natural magic doesn't like to be tamed and it couldn't all fit into my core, from what Daddy told me. It hollowed out my own magic to make room but it still wasn't enough. What was left lashed out around me at full force..."

My voice drifted off as we came upon the familiar clearing. Like I remembered from the last time I'd been here, the clearing still bore the scars from my ley link. Near the center of the clearing was a spot cleared out for a bonfire pit but the logs that were normally there were gone. A few yards away from the pit, a crater two feet deep and four feet in diameter was carved into the earth, surrounded by smaller fissures and gouges in the dirt that extended out like ripples in a pond. The clearing was broken where trees had been pulled down and, though most of the trees had been taken out, nine old stumps still remained to show what had happened. Some trees bore scars from lightning and the area was unnaturally quiet as if no wildlife dared enter this space.

"The Ministry of Magic has a department made for this sort of thing, for stuff even wizards can't always explain," I murmured, pointing to the crater that showed where I had stood. "It's called the Department of Mysteries. The people who work there are Unspeakables because everything they do is highly classified."

"How do you know that?"

"When I was being discharged, an team of Unspeakables came to talk to my parents... They brought me to the Ministry, through so many doors and turns I couldn't find my way out without them, and did _something_ to the ley link. They've been monitoring it ever since to make sure that the magic doesn't get to a level I can't control."

"Wait... So that magic... It's still in you?" Hermione realized, sounding horrified. I nodded. I'd had plenty of time to get used to the idea.

"I can't really explain it... The natural magic burned out nearly all of my own energy but the natural magic never left. It replenishes itself through the ley lines, like the ones here or at Hogwarts, but I can't recover it just by sleeping... If I'm using a lot of magic, I have to be somewhere I can tap into the ley lines otherwise my core will run dry. Even the wand I have is specially crafted to not drain my own magic first. Instead of the standard cores- unicorn hair, phoenix feather, or dragon heartstring- my wand's core is made from the tail hair of a Re'em, which is like a golden ox. The Re'em by nature is free and undomesticated, making its hair perfect for channeling natural magic."

"That's..."

"It's alright... I'd rather know it sooner rather than later. If it happens again this year, I'm ready for it. The worst thing about it is trying to keep it a secret," I shrugged. Hermione and Harry both looked at me incredulously.

"You mean you weren't supposed to tell us?" Harry asked, thoroughly surprised.

"I wouldn't say that I wasn't _supposed to_, but I'd appreciate it if you kept it to yourself. Having a ley link just means that I have a lot more room to grow and my family doesn't want that common knowledge yet. Of course, a few people know already. Neville visited me in the hospital after and I told Daphne so she'd keep an eye out for me over Samhain but if Draco found out, his father would be intolerable." I shivered at the thought of Lucius Malfoy discovering that I had a ley link.

At that, Hermione frowned.

"What were you and your mother talking about at the station?

"I'm heiress to an old family so it's sort of expected that I marry someone else from an old family. If Lord Malfoy found out that I have a ley link, he might feel it's appropriate to try and arrange a marriage between Draco and I."

"What?!" Hermione asked, eyes wide.

"Malfoy?!" It sounded like a curse as the name left Harry's mouth. I stared at the both of them with a frown.

"What's wrong?" The moment the words were out of my mouth, I understood. "Oh, arranged marriage... It's old fashioned but it's kept society together fairly well. If Harry had been raised in the wizarding world, he'd known."

"What?" Harry's deer in headlights look was almost laughable.

"The house of Potter was one of the middling houses, powerful but not as old as the others. It was getting there until your father, actually. He went against family tradition, turned down his arranged marriage, and married a Muggleborn. Your grandmother, a former Black, was less than thrilled from what Mama told me."

"Do- Does-"

"Does everyone else know about your family?" I guessed when Harry seemed unable to find the words. He nodded sharply and I hummed thoughtfully. "The better question would be to ask who still cares. Most stopped thinking about it after You-Know-Who was defeated, I think, but there are others who still remember the Potter house. My family, the Greengrasses, the Higgs, the Longbottoms-"

"Neville?" Harry asked. I nodded.

"Neville," I repeated. "His grandmother is regent for the family but Neville is going to be a powerful figure once he figures out how to get Draco off of his back."

"I need to go to the library," Hermione muttered to herself. "Genealogy, houses, marriages, ley lines-"

"Later," I interrupted. "Tonight, we're celebrating."

* * *

><p>The Yule, despite my bad experience last year, would always be one of my favorite festivals. The fire shot off neon sparks that glowed like fairy lights before dissipating in the moonlight and dancing shadows were thrown onto the forest trees as if the trees were celebrating with us. The feast was delicious and, for once, my mother didn't question the sudden appearance of butterbeer at the table.<p>

As the festival drew to a close, I could almost feel something inside of me begin to shift in excitement. I wasn't sure if that place behind my sternum was where my core was but it felt like it as the bonfire burned higher and hotter than ever as dawn grew closer and closer.

Moments before dawn appeared on the horizon, the fire blazed higher than ever, releasing a shower of neon sparks into the sky. I watched, captivated, as the rainbow of lights danced through the air, twisting and turning delicately before joining into a single comet of energy. When the comet began to arc back towards me, I was ready. Unlike last year, where I cowered away from it, I met it happily, knowing that this was what was meant to happen.

The fiery colors melted into my skin, burning through my veins with an icy pain that quickly gave way to warm comfort as the magic blazed through my body, leaving my toes and fingertips tingling.

I could feel as the magic shifted, writhing and wriggling behind my heart, as it made its home. With fairy lights illuminating the sky and a smile on my face, my vision clouded over.

Not for the first time, I woke up in a hospital bed. This time felt different, though. Instead of feeling exhausted and half-broken, I felt new, rejuvenated.

"Cor?" a voice asked uncertainly. I smiled, turning to see Sebastian standing nervously next to my bed. I was a little surprised not see either of our parents or my friends but Sebastian was there and that was enough. "How do you feel?"

"Great," I said, the word tasting strange on my tongue. Great didn't begin to describe it. "Where are the others?"

"Your friends were getting antsy so Mum bullied a student healer into giving them a tour. Last I saw, Hermione was badgering the girl about stitches." A wry smile found its way to Sebastian's face and I chuckled. That sounded like Hermione.

"And Daddy?" I could assume but I wanted to hear it from Sebastian.

"Working. No word yet, but Mum thinks no news is good news," my brother said with a casual shrug. Then his body language shifted ever so slightly and his eyes shone with what I thought was pride. "You did it, Cor."

"No one got hurt?"

"Not even a tree," Sebastian chuckled. "The healers are a bit confused but you're perfectly healthy. They think your core adapted to accept the influx but it's nothing they've seen before."

I didn't care about the healers' theories- my father would give me more definite information when he got home from work- but it was always good to hear that there weren't any adverse side effects of the natural magic.

"So what else did I-"

"Cor!" My attention was immediately snatched by the appearance of three more visitors. I smiled at my mother and my friends. Mynt was content to smile back while Hermione started talking a mile at a minute about the different wards and Harry questioned how I was feeling, if I had any cool new powers, etc.

"Alright, you two, give the girl some room," another voice, teasing, ordered. I looked to the door to see my father striding towards us.

"Daddy," I greeted happily. There was some weariness in his gait but his eyes betrayed nothing but happy relief. _Good news_.

"I just heard from our friends." That was what he called his coworkers, the other Unspeakables, that worked on the ley link they were studying- my ley link. "Good news. There's not much definitive information yet, but there's good reason to think that there won't be a repeat of last year."

There was more, I knew, but that was all he would say while we were in such a public place.

"Um... Is this a bad time?"

My eyes widened in surprise. I knew that timid voice from anywhere.

"Neville?" Harry asked, looking at the other boy incredulously. "What are you doing here? I mean..." Harry seemed to realize that he was being bit rude but he couldn't find a suitable replacement inquiry. Neville, reddening with embarrassment, seemed to understand well enough.

"I was... visiting somebody-" A bit of my heart clenched. Alice Longbottom was my godmother; I'd visited Neville's parents with him more than once. "- And one of the healers mentioned that you were here so I..."

"Thanks for coming, Neville," I said as genuinely as I could. Neville took a few steps closer as if he were walking on broken glass, barely hiding a cringe as Sebastian shifted slightly to tower over the younger boy. "Bass, it's alright."

"If you say so." Sebastian didn't move. Neville swallowed and took another step so that he was just slightly behind Hermione and Harry, as close to me as he would get without either stepping aside.

"I was worried... Is it like last year?" he asked softly, glancing uncertainly towards Harry and Hermione. I nodded slowly.

"Sort of," I acknowledged. "Not nearly as bad, though. I think I have control over most of it now."

"So it doesn't hurt now?"

"No," I said softly. Neville had chosen Gryffindor over me, I knew, but I still felt bad for him. It wasn't even just pity. I wasn't bitter that he'd picked his house over a Slytherin but I was upset that our friendship had meant so little to him after I made it clear that it meant something to me. I'd had months to get over that upset though. "It doesn't hurt."

"Good." Neville glanced again at Harry and Hermione. "So they know?"

"Yes. I told my friends." Neville winced at my choice of words. He was silent for a long moment, his eyes firmly glued to the floor.

"I should've..." I couldn't make out the mumbled words Neville was saying. My patience for my old friend was mostly gone.

"You should've what?" I asked, none too gently. A part of me wondered how many times Neville winced since stepping to the doorway.

"I should've listened to you," he repeated louder but I wasn't satisfied yet. He still hadn't looked at me.

"Glad we have something we can agree on. Anything else?"

"I'm sorry," he said. I didn't want an apology, though. I wanted him to look at me without flinching like I was the enemy.

"You chose a side, Neville. If you're going to do that, at least do it with some conviction. There's no need to apologize for it."

"Yes, there is." And then he finally managed to drag his eyes off of the tile he was standing on. He met my eyes for just a moment but it was enough. "I didn't want this... I want to be friends."

"Alright," I shrugged. Neville's eyes jumped to me and, this time, they stayed.

"What?" I rolled my eyes.

"Ask yourself, do you really want to know if I have any ulterior motives?" I asked jokingly. I did have a few but I did miss his friendship. Oh, the life of a Slytherin.

After a few moments of thought, Neville shook his head.

"Better off not knowing," he acknowledged and I beamed.

"Good. Now that _that's_ settled, can I finally get out of here? I hate hospitals."


	11. Chapter 11

Christmas was as noisy an affair as possible in the Wyncrest house. We woke up early and ate a breakfast made by my mother- who had insisted that the house elves get Christmas to themselves to celebrate as they like- before opening presents. Our Christmas tree was covered with baubles and trinkets that each sang different carols and the rooms were all lit by happily crackling fires.

It was a little strange to see how surprised Harry was at getting Christmas presents, something that made me glad that I'd gotten him more than one thing.

For Harry, I'd gotten a book about the history of the Quidditch World Cup complete with holographic highlights and a new snitch- for practice, I explained to him. I also promised that we'd fly together later that day while Hermione was perusing the grand library.

Hermione had been rather more difficult. I had gotten her, of course, a couple of books I thought she'd find interesting. The first was _Bad Blood? Bah!_, a book about famous Muggleborns. The second was a copy of our potions textbook that I'd gone through with my mother and marked to make the instructions easier to follow. I'd also gotten her a charm bracelet. There were only a few charms on the gold bracelet so far- a little golden lion that roared if you poked at it, a small silver snake that would wriggle through the rings of the bracelet when you weren't looking, a book that couldn't decide what color its cover was, and a tiny cauldron that would grow warm or cold depending on how far it was from its counterpart- but I promised that there would be more.

When she asked about the cauldron's counterpart, I grinned and held up my hand, showing her the matching bracelet on my wrist. I don't think I'd ever been hugged so hard.

Sebastian was almost easy. I gave him a solemn oath that I wouldn't tell Kayla- his fellow prefect- that he helped her with Potions because he wanted to spend more time with her. When Sebastian's eyes threatened pain at that oath, I revealed a box filled with strawberry Pocky, a Muggle sweet that never failed to distract him.

I gave my mother a new pair of dragon hide gloves for her potions work and my father got an oak tree I'd painted and, with some extra help from Professor Flitwick, charmed to cycle through the seasons each minute, a nod to his work with natural magic.

The real surprise was an anonymous present to Harry. As he pulled the cloak on, his body disappearing behind it, Sebastian groaned loudly.

"As a prefect, I'm going to ignore the fact that someone sent an eleven year old a bloody _invisibility cloak_," he announced before returning his attention to a Chocolate Frog that was desperately trying to escape him.

"An invisibility cloak?" Harry asked, turning to see that his body was truly invisible. I frowned as a note fell out of it. My father got letters from Dumbledore occasionally, and I'd know that narrow handwriting from anywhere. The frown deepened.

"Daddy," I said, holding the note out to him. My father took it, reading curiously before looking to his wife.

"It's James' cloak."

"I thought it was lost with the house," my mother said thoughtfully. "That would explain a few things, though..."

"What?" Harry asked, peeling his eyes off of his invisible feet.

"That invisibility cloak was your father's. Something of a Potter heirloom if I remember correctly," my father told Harry.

"My father's?" Harry looked at the cloak in his hands with something akin to awe. I realized at that moment that the cloak in his hands was the first tangible link he had to his parents. He wasn't of age yet, so he couldn't access his family vault. That meant that anything the Aurors recovered from his house was out of his reach.

* * *

><p>After Christmas, we settled into a pattern quickly. Harry and I would fly each morning after breakfast, trying to convince Hermione to join us all the while. Once Hermione lost patience with us, we retired to my labstudy. We'd play a couple of rounds of wizards chess- a game Hermione found barbaric but Harry enjoyed thoroughly- and then take some time to go over what we knew concerning Fluffy the Cerberus and the Philosopher's Stone. That was a dead end conversation each time, though, so we quickly moved on to less dangerous topics. We'd talk a lot about how the wizarding world functioned and how it compared to the Muggle world, for example. That was always safe and it was fun to learn about how the Muggles got along without magic.

Those conversations weren't always pleasant, though. They revealed to me just how little Harry knew of the world he should have grown up in had the war against You-Know-Who ended any other way. He learned fast enough, as did Hermione, but there was no way I could bring either of them up to speed on a culture that most wizarding children have the first ten or eleven years of their life to learn within one winter break. I had to choose what to teach him in our informal lessons and it wasn't something I liked to do.

The only thing during the break I truly was loathe to do, however, was attend the Malfoy's New Year Masque. Neither Harry nor Hermione had been invited and, as such, my mother had to impose upon Hermione's parents- who lived in Muggle London- to watch the two for the night while I was left to the wrath of high society.

My only saving grace was my reinstated friendship with Neville who, despite his perceived lack of talent, was important enough politically that I could spend much of the night talking to him. Daphne and Blaise were there as well but Daphne was there as the Greengrass heiress and Blaise had to make sure his recently widowed mother didn't find husband number four at the masque.

The masque passed largely without incident. I evaded Draco and his family for most of the night and escaped the night unscathed and unbetrothed. With the New Year celebrated, the winter break came to a hasty close and I, flanked by Hermione and Harry, found myself back at the train station.

With school back in session, I was pleasantly surprised to see that no one had forgotten the hierarchy over the break. It put me in the perfect position to put one of my plans into action.

"You want to do _what_?" Harry asked incredulously as I explained my idea. We- Neville, Hermione, Harry, Daphne, and I- were once again in an abandoned classroom.

"I have goals, Harry, big ones. I was Sorted into Slytherin because of my ambitions but I'm not stupid enough to think I can do everything that needs to be done on my own. I need a group of people I can trust to have my back when push comes to shove and I need the funds that will allow me to pursue my goals."

"But, Cor, what you're asking-" Harry began. I silenced him with a sharp look.

"Is nothing extraordinary," I finished for him.

"... It'll be difficult to get enough interest in it, especially at first, but I think it will work... I'll have to talk to Blaise," Daphne said slowly before nodding twice. "Yes. Slytherin will be backing you, Cor. You know that."

"Are you really that important in your house?" Neville asked before hesitating, blushing. "Not that you seem unimportant, it's just-"

"Cor is the best witch," Daphne admitted freely. "Our house runs smoothly once we have a single leader to rally behind. With Pansy keeping her fat mouth shut, that's Cor without a doubt."

"Wow..." Neville breathed. Hermione chuckled.

"I told you," she said, elbowing Neville jokingly. She turned her attention to me once more. "You know I'll always be there with you."

"Me too," Neville decided before frowning sullenly. "I don't think I'll be much help, though..."

"You are Neville Longbottom, son of Aurors Frank and Alice Longbottom. You are best in Herbology- including yours truly, if I might add- and one of the most genuine people I know," I reminded him sternly. "Don't forget that...

"Now," I said, refocusing my little group. "This is what I want you all to do..."

Within two weeks, everything was put into place. I got permission from everyone I needed to and fliers were put up in every common room. For the reasonable price of one sickle per lesson, notes would be available for purchase for all of the first year courses. Neville would write Herbology, I would write Potions and Transfiguration, Daphne would take Charms and Astronomy, Harry would take Defense Against the Dark Arts, and, lastly, Hermione would write for History of Magic. Together, the five of us would provide notes for our fellow first years but, if the older grades wanted, we could work on pushing forward in the curriculum. We'd be able to learn the lessons ahead of schedule and earn the extra experience, having a completely valid reason to go to any of the teachers for extra help, as well as make some extra money. All in all, there was no way we'd be met with trouble. Worst case scenario, the notes don't take very well and we end up supplying only History of Magic notes because, let's face it, Binns is a truly dreadful teacher.

So, by the time February strolled along, the first installments for each first year class were released. With the papers being distributed mostly by Daphne and Hermione, the small business of sorts was well run and I was proud to say that, by the time the second installment came out, there was already a healthy following for Potions, History of Magic, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. The others were lagging behind, but the extra income was enough to make continuing each line worth the effort.

School was going great. The Corps- which Neville insisted on calling us- was making a decent profit and we were building up a fortune that, in the outside world, was almost meaningless but, for a handful of first years, was impressive. More than that, we were growing more and more influential. Snape didn't question my taking charge of my group because they were mine, loyal to me before their individual houses. Ron grudgingly joined in after realizing that antagonizing me would likely leave him friendless and Blaise had jumped in at the first opportunity. I had eyes all over Hogwarts.

The Slytherin house team quickly asserted our dominance over Ravenclaw, making their last victory at the Ravenclaw-Hufflepuff game at the end of November almost meaningless. The first weekend in March was marked by the Gryffindor team thrashing Hufflepuff, bringing the lions back into the running for the cup, if only a little. That seemed to make Wood only a little happy, according to Harry. The entire Gryffindor team knew that they were still trailing behind too far for anything but a miracle to beat my house, a fact that, of the team, only Harry was even remotely okay with. I hadn't seen Damien recently but Harry told me in no uncertain terms that he was seething.

I can't, however, say that nothing good came out of the Gryffindor-Hufflepuff game.

For example, I got to see Ron give Draco a black eye and see Neville take on Crabbe and Goyle at the same time. Then again, the latter probably wasn't a good idea. I had to step in, drawing my wand and hexing Neville's legs together- a spell for which I knew Hermione had mastered the counter curse. For good measure, recognizing that Crabbe and Goyle would continue delivering a beatdown despite the other boy being outnumbered and handicapped, I sent a tickling curse at the two boys.

"Crabbe, Goyle... Will you ever learn that the punishment for harming those valuable to me is not something to ignore? Granger, take your friends and leave. And, Weasley. Harm my housemates again and you will be less than pleased with the outcome."

Ron's face screwed up with anger but I ignored it. Ron would get over it eventually and Hermione and Neville knew that I had to put up a united front with my housemates. However, it had been made clear just a few weeks ago that certain people were under my protection. To harm them is to insult me and I wasn't going to stand for insults, especially not from Crabbe and Goyle of all people.

Turning to them, I sheathed my wand.

"I recommend that you make yourselves more valuable to me. Otherwise... Well, I won't be disappointed to see you leave."


	12. Chapter 12

The Corps was supposed to meet up on the Monday after the Quidditch game but my subordinates decided otherwise. As such, Daphne, Blaise, and I were met by our lion counterparts by the Black Lake on Sunday.

"You'll never believe what I heard," Harry said, dropping his voice to a whisper before telling me about Snape and Quirrell's 'conversation.' As Harry told the story, I knew that a frown was settling on my face even as I tried to keep a straight face. Once he had finished, I shook my head slowly.

"He's my head of house, Harry... I've spent loads of time with him helping sort out the potions closet and working with him on the potions notes. He's not evil."

"But, Cor, the evidence-"

"Is inconclusive," I cut in, interrupting Harry. "We have nothing else to suggest that Snape is trying to steal the Stone and, until I say otherwise, Snape has no part in this."

"And what if you're wrong?" Ron asked angrily. I met his glare calmly but allowed my hand to hover over my wand holster. I wasn't going to take insubordination from someone I'd stuck my neck out for.

"Snape is not trying to steal the Stone. If I hear that you begin acting upon your suspicions without further evidence or explicit orders, you will come to regret it. As of now, you contribute very little to the group. I won't hesitate to rescind your invitation."

Ron looked as if someone had force fed him an entire lemon but, after a long moment of silent deliberation, he nodded grudgingly. He was almost too proud to be useful but I could keep him on hand. At the very least, he was good at spreading our notes around.

"Good... Now that that's settled, we might as well get down to business. There's no sense in meeting twice in two days... My parents have approved allowing the Corps access to our home over the summer. Clear your calendars because I want to see all of you as much as possible before September. We have a lot of work to done before we can put into actions any more plans."

"What are you planning now, Cor?" Hermione asked, an unsurprised smile on her face. I returned the smile to her.

"Slytherin has been regarded as evil for years, right? I intend to change that. Our line of notes has already begun to help but I intend on pushing that further. I want each of us to train over the summer so that, come September, we can start strong. I want an interhouse dueling club."

"Do you think that'll work?" Neville asked nervously. "I mean... I trust you guys but the rest of Slytherin..."

"Don't worry about it, Neville. I'm not letting in anyone without getting approval from at least three of us. I want a fair club that lets everyone benefit, not another outlet for Draco to bully people," I told him. Looking much relieved, Neville nodded.

"I'll send Gran a letter," he promised. "She'll probably be ecstatic."

"There's just one problem with that, Cor," Hermione said with a frown. "How are we supposed to practice over the summer if we're not allowed to use magic outside of school?"

"Oh, right... Muggleborn," I hummed. Before Hermione could get agitated, I explained. "The way the Ministry keeps track of magical misuse for schoolkids is actually really unfair. The charm to detect magic can't determine who cast the magic. If I'm at home or at any other magical location, then the Ministry can't tell if I'm casting the spell or if it's my parents or another witch or wizard. If I try a spell in a muggle area, where I'm the only one capable of magic, then it's obviously me."

"So, because Harry and I live with muggles... Any magic in the house is automatically ours?" Hermione asked, an incredulous look on her face. When I nodded, her disbelief melted into rage. "That's so unfair!"

"Agreed. Personally, I think underaged magic should be monitored but not forbidden. For someone with genuine interest in learning magic," I said, nodding to Hermione, "I think there should at least be a designated area where you can go and practice over the summer."

"So if we're at your house, the Ministry won't know that we're using magic?" Harry asked. I nodded in confirmation.

"They'll assume it's my parents or someone else. The only concern is that my parents will want to know what we're up to but my parents trust me to know my own limits."

"What about your brother?" Daphne asked with a frown.

"Sebastian won't be a problem. He's supportive of the Corps." I didn't mention that he was only supportive because I had a group of loyal followers that I could rely on if needed. It was always good to have strong allies and the ones I had chosen were either already influential or would be one day soon.

"And... Damien?" Harry asked, hesitant to say his name. I grimaced but Ron saved me from answering.

"Fred and George were talking to Mum about having Damien staying at the Burrow over the summer," he informed me. "Mum loves Damien. She'll definitely say yes."

"But he'll know," Harry said slowly, looking at me with something like concern. "Weren't you trying to keep this from him?"

"I want to keep this quiet for as long as possible. Slytherin is known for producing Dark wizards and I don't exactly want to be branded as a tyrant in my second year... But people will figure out what we're up to eventually."

"Those mysterious goals of yours?" Neville asked with a wry smile. I grinned back at him.

"Exactly."

"Are we ever going to learn what we're working towards?" Ron asked tiredly. I shrugged.

"Maybe. For now, it's best if you don't question me too much. I know what I'm doing."

"The Corps motto: do not question," Daphne joked. I rolled my eyes.

"Don't say that like you're not getting anything out of this. You're getting a cut of the notes' income, a leg up on the other first years, and you get allies. You get the Wyncrest name joining with the Greengrass family to make a powerful alliance. Isn't that why you started this to begin with?"

"You know me well, Corrine," Daphne nodded unabashedly. "Well enough that you know I won't turn on you any time soon."

It was a delicate dance but Daphne knew the balance of power. In ensuring that Pansy didn't become a tyrant, she had helped me rise to power. Daphne made sure that I remained dominant over the others in first year and, in return, she stayed close to me and was free to pursue her own interests so long as they didn't conflict with my plans.

"My point," I began, bringing the topic to safer waters, "is that I do have plans that are in action or almost ready and I need all of you to be in top form when the time comes..."

After all, like the Sorting Hat had said nearly a year ago, I had big plans and I fully intended on chasing them down.

I didn't want to stay at home like my mother. I didn't want to be nameless like my father. I didn't want to pursue a career in quidditch like Damien and, though it was interesting, I didn't want to be an Auror like Sebastian did. No, I wanted to be able to really change the world around me.

I wanted to restore Slytherin house to greatness. I wanted to bring back the old holidays and properly teach the younger generations about Samhain and Yule. I wanted to learn more about nature magic and see if a non-parselmouth could learn parseltongue like any other language. I wanted to meet people and shape my world to fit the expectations I had developed growing up.

I wanted to be Minister of Magic.

At the very least, any way, that was somewhere on my to-do list.

* * *

><p>If I was ever glad for the idea of selling notes, it definitely kicked in as exams began to creep closer and closer. Hermione was a mess of color-coded schedules and flashcards and nothing I or the others would say would calm her down. She'd just keep insisting that she wasn't ready for the exams which couldn't have been farther from the truth. Outside of Potions, Herbology, and the very rare Defense lesson, she was solidly ahead of me and that was saying something.<p>

The note business was booming, creating a need for an actual name and, despite my exasperation, Neville named it as well. The Corps-iculum was selling first and second year material at the price of one sickle per lesson or, if you were buying more than five lessons, fifteen knuts per lesson.

It was good that _something_ was going well, in any case. I'd only heard about it after the fact but Ron managed to get himself bit by a baby Norwegian Ridgeback.

"So... Tell me again," I sighed, shaking my head as I paced around the hospital wing. It had taken nearly twenty minutes to convince Madame Pomfrey that Harry, Hermione, Daphne, and I wouldn't do anything to worsen Ron's condition. "Hagrid- who lives in a wooden hut, mind you- decided that it would be a good idea to illegally barter for and win a dragon egg and, with only outdated reading material to guide him through the process, rear the young dragon himself? With no outside help?"

"He thinks the bloody thing's this harmless pet," Ron snapped angrily. I glanced at his hand. It was still severely swollen but Harry and Hermione had told me that it had actually gone down. The green had abated to the area just around the laceration but it was by no means healthy looking.

"So you contacted Ron's brother in Romania to see if he could take it up at the reserve up there?" I asked, glancing between the Gryffindors. "And, by sheer dumb luck, you managed to slip that information to Draco?"

"Er- Yes," Harry said with a wince. I groaned but looked to Daphne.

"We'll need to convene with the other Slytherins. Draco can't be allowed to leak the information to anyone, especially a staff member, but he can't think that we're impeding him. The Malfoy family would make a dangerous opponent."

"You could fix that easily, Cor," Daphne reminded me with a frown. She didn't like the idea of arranged marriage any more than I did but she recognized the potential in such a proposal.

"That's an absolute last resort," I told her sharply. "You three," I said, looking to the Gryffindors. "I'll deal with this mess with Draco but you have to get the dragon out of here. I can promise to keep Filch off of your backs long enough for the transfer but no longer. Let's go, Daphne. We've got damage control to run. Feel better, Ron."

"Thanks," he grumbled.

Sparing only a nod to the other Gryffindors, I turned on my heel and headed towards the door, Daphne at my flanking and murmuring ideas to me on how to stall Draco.

* * *

><p>The night of the transfer was perfect on my end. With a little help and access to the Potions classroom under guise of sorting out the ingredients cupboard, I'd managed to make and slip a potion into Draco's pumpkin juice that, while not exceptionally powerful, would give him some very nasty symptoms necessitating an overnight in the Hospital Wing. With Crabbe and Goyle unable to think without Draco's direction, my only concern was Filch. A quick and anonymous note to Harry one breakfast using one of the school owls fixed that problem, however. So long as he remembered to use the invisibility cloak he got for Christmas, the night would go off without a hitch. To be certain, though, I sent Filch an anonymous tip that the twins were planning a venture into the Forbidden Forest, a trip that would take him far beyond the Astronomy tower.<p>

As fate would have it, though, the night didn't go that seamlessly. I wasn't sure if I was angry or disappointed but I couldn't forgive Hermione and Harry forgetting something so simple and instrumental to the plan as the _invisibility cloak_. For Merlin's sake, it had been his _father's_ and he'd just left it at the top of the tower and gotten himself and Hermione caught, losing a hundred points between them for absolutely no reason.


	13. Chapter 13

The exams were not difficult by any stretch of the imagination for myself or the Corps. It was almost standard, with the release of each lesson of notes, that the notes are revised and studied by every member of the Corps so that we would all be at least proficient in the various subjects. It ensured that no one was left behind too far in any of the subjects, making my Corps members some of the strongest academically in the school.

While the vast majority of my housemates were stressing over exams, I was able to approach them calmly. Forgoing studying, at least for the most part, I dedicated most of my time to developing a stronger rapport with my head of house. Though he'd made it very clear in the past that he was less than pleased with my inter-house outreach, I was confident in saying that I was Snape's favorite first year thanks to my early education in potioneering thanks to my family. With that, I wasn't unwelcome in the dungeons. After the first couple of visits, he had even seemed pleased to see me stop by to help sort out the ingredients cupboard or run miscellaneous errands such as ferrying potions to the Hospital Wing or going to the Greenhouses to check on this or that plant's growth. It felt good to be trusted with that much and I was hopeful that, even if I didn't go into potioneering professionally, I might be able to rely on the potion master for help.

After finishing the examinations, I opted to go outside and enjoy the rest of the day, much like the rest of the school. It had taken some intimidation but ultimately Daphne, Blaise, and I were lounging in the shade of a tree overlooking Black Lake. From our vantage point, we could see the Weasley twins and their friend wading in the shallows of the lake with the giant squid.

The afternoon had been a very necessary lazy day. I apparently wasn't allowed to have a decent afternoon, though, since the Gryffindors had the gall to approach me once more with the ludicrous belief that Professor Snape was not only trying to steal the Philosopher's Stone but steal it for _He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named _of all people. Well, I say _the Gryffindors_. To my surprise, it was largely Harry who believed that Snape was a danger to the Stone. I refused to help them, being able to identify a bad idea, but, as they walked away sullenly, I also knew that Harry and Ron were going to go through with it and drag Hermione along for the ride. Even if they didn't force her, she was too clever to think that they'd be okay without her. She'd go with them and go down with them.

Sighing, I turned my face to bask in the sunlight.

I wasn't about to let one of my friends go out like that.

_Damn it, Hermione..._

* * *

><p>"Well there you are... Snape's already got past Fluffy," a familiar voice murmured. I narrowed my eyes at where the voice came from. Harry- joined by Ron and Hermione- was completely invisible to my eyes but I could <em>feel<em> him there. The magic weaving through Hogwarts and his own body made him feel like a small candle before me. I couldn't see them, but I could feel the pulsing of three magical cores. "If you want to go back, I won't blame you. You can take the cloak; I won't need it now."

"Don't be stupid," Ron hissed.

"We're coming," Hermione confirmed quietly. I shook my head, stepping from the shadows.

"You three are in for a world of hurt," I murmured. I spotted three pairs of feet as they turned to me, the cloak whipping up about their ankles. "And you're lucky that you're predictable. Well? Are we going to do this?"

"Cor! What are you doing here?" Harry asked, pulling the cloak off to show his dumbstruck face. I rolled my eyes.

"Protecting my assets, can't you tell? Now let's get this over with. I've got Quidditch practice tomorrow morning."

"Do you know how to get past Fluffy?" Ron asked skeptically.

"Fluffy is a Cerberus. You play music. I'm assuming one of you brought something to keep it busy?" I asked, glancing at the three. Harry, with a miffed look on his face, pulled what looked like a wooden flute from his pocket. "Great. Let's get this over with then."

Replacing the cloak over the four of us, though it was a bit of tight fit, we sidled awkwardly through the door. Fluffy the Cerberus sniffed in our direction hungrily but couldn't see through the cloak. I elbowed Harry and, after fumbling with his hands for a bit, he began playing a series of notes that barely passed for a melody. It seemed to count as music as far as Fluffy was concerned; his six eyelids began to droop low and his growls subsided, drifting to sleep with every passing beat. When it finally hit the ground, unconscious, Ron swallowed anxiously.

"I think we'll be able to get the trap door open... Want to go first, Hermione?" he asked warily.

"Honestly," I scoffed. Calculating the height of the large dog's legs, I jumped over and landed on the other side without a problem. When I knelt to open the door, I smiled grimly at a small harp that had been left behind by whomever had gone past. Pushing it to the side, I gripped the ring of the trap door and pried it open. When I looked within, though, I only saw darkness.

"What do you see?" Hermione asked me nervously. I shook my head back at her before drawing my wand.

"Nothing just yet... _Lumos_!" A dull light began shining from the tip of my wand that strengthened as I focused more energy to it. What I saw at the bottom was less than appealing, however. Quite a ways away was a plant that even from this distance was recognizable. "You guys better get over here."

"What?" Hermione asked breathlessly once the Gryffindors had all joined me.

"Devil's Snare," I murmured, gesturing down even as Harry continued playing his flute. For his and Ron's benefit, I elaborated. "It's a plant that will strangle you if you don't kill it first. I could get rid of it from here but then it wouldn't be there to cushion our landing. I recommend that we land in it then get rid of it."

"Can you do that fast enough that we won't die?" Ron asked, his voice cracking slightly. I nodded and looked to Hermione.

"Any basic sun or heat spell will force it back."

"So bluebell flames will be okay?"

"Yes," I confirmed with a nod. "Ron and Harry, you go first. Hermione, go right after them. When you're clear of the Snare, I'll jump down. Got it?"

"What about Fluffy?" Ron asked, glancing at the sleeping Cerberus. I picked up the harp from where it had been discarded. Holding it up, I began to strum a half-forgotten lullaby.

"I'm not just a pretty face, Weasley. I had to learn various social graces to stay on the good side of politics and, fortunately for us, music was one of them," I murmured softly. Fluffy didn't mind the transition from sloppy flute to gentle harp at all. If anything, he turned over and fell a bit deeper into sleep. "Go. I'll keep this big softie calmed down."

"Ready?" Ron asked.

"On three," Harry nodded. "One..."

"Two..."

"Three!" they both whispered before jumping through the trap door and falling down, down, down. I looked up at Hermione and she nodded. With a moment to catch her breath and murmur a good luck to me, she too vanished into the darkness. Continuing to gently strum, I began to lowering the harp gently. Playing less carefully now with a single hand, the harp laying on the ground, I drew my wand with my other hand and leaned towards the trap door. As soon as I stopped playing, the Cerberus began to growl softly but I had already thrown myself into the dark.

As soon as I'd landed, I sent a wave of fire from the tip of my wand in a sweeping motion to force the Devil's Snare away from me. Jumping up and skidding out of the plant's reach, I found the other three first years standing to the side at the entrance to a stone passageway.

"That was easy," I remarked with a smile. Ron shook his head.

"Lucky someone pays attention in Herbology," he grumbled.

"Don't thank me, thank Neville. He's the one that obsessively shoved all the herbology into my head since he could hold a trowel. But let's go. The Stone is still in danger."

"How do you figure?" Ron asked. I pointed to the walls where, from the low light of Hermione's blue flames, I could make out scorch marks.

"Burn marks. Hermione's bluebells wouldn't have burned the stone and I only hit the floor. Someone flash-fired their way through, probably with a much stronger fire charm. Whoever is after the Stone is still ahead of us."

With a determined light in his eyes, Harry looked to each of us before turning towards the path.

"Then let's go."

* * *

><p>As we made our way through the challenges guarding the Stone, I tried to determine which teacher had set which defense. The first, the Devil's Snare, had obviously been Professor Sprout. Next had been Flitwick's charmed flying keys. The third was harder to figure out but, with the animation of stone being an art taught in Transfiguration, it could only be McGonagall's. It left a bitter taste in my mouth to leave Ron behind but, with Hermione, he was in capable hands. Next, Harry and I passed over a mountain troll even larger than the one Hermione and I had been cornered by. Luckily for us, the object of Quirrell's test was already solidly knocked out. Carefully tiptoeing over the troll, Harry and I found ourselves in a room containing seven bottles and flasks of all different sizes with a parchment on the table. Picking it up, I read it curiously.<p>

"Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind. Two of us will help you, which ever you would find, one among us seven will let you move ahead, another will transport the drinker back instead. Two among our number hold only nettle wine, three of us are killers, waiting bidden in line. Choose, unless you wish to stay here forevermore. To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four: First, however slyly the poison tries to hide, you will always find some on nettle wine's left side; Second, different are those who stand at either end, but if you would move onward, neither is your friend; Third, as you see clearly, all are different size, neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides; Fourth, the second left and the second on the right are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight..."

"What does that mean?" Harry asked blankly. I almost laughed.

"Professor Snape... He's more clever than people give credit. It's a riddle, Harry. He's given us the clues... Now we just need to put them together..."

"But how?" Harry asked impatiently. I shushed him again.

"If you won't be helpful, hush. I'm thinking... Three poisons, two nettle wines, one that goes through the black flames, towards the Stone, and one that goes back towards the exit... Two wines... Twins once you taste them," I murmured to myself. "Neither dwarf nor giant... neither is your friend... move onward... different are- Yes!"

"What?" Harry asked cautiously. I grinned.

"I've got it!" Looking at the bottle, though, I frowned. It was such a small bottle... There'd likely only be enough for one of us to go through. "Wait a sec... Let me try something."

I picked up one of the bottles of nettle wine- bottle number two- and poured it out. Pulling out my wand, I forced myself to recall the charm Sebastian had been practicing for extra marks on his OWLs.

"Aguamenti," I murmured, tapping my wand on the inside of the bottle. A slow trickle of water dripped from my wand and, while the magic drained me, I could feel Hogwarts and its ley lines do their work to keep me at full power. When there was enough water in the bottle to rinse it, I cut the spell and swirled the water around to clean the bottle of any leftover traces of wine. Hoping that the potion wasn't linked to its container- there were some potions that necessitated certain flasks- I poured the potion into the larger bottle. Pulling out my wand once more, I prepared myself for another difficult spell, one that I'd only read about. If I was _extremely _lucky, theory and the ley lines' energy would be enough to successfully cast the spell. "Gemino."

The bottle's contents shuddered before rising with an odd gurgling sound. By the time I cut the magic, the bottle was nearly full.

"Now there's enough," I hoped aloud. Glancing up at Harry, I moved to drink the potion but he stopped my hand, his green eyes serious.

"Cor, are you sure? If it's Snape..."

"Then it might as well be me seeing it," I answered smoothly. "And I'm sure about the potion too. Now, if you don't mind..."

I downed a large mouthful of the stuff, resisting a shudder as it ran down my throat like jagged icicles. The ice spread from my throat and stomach, not stopping or slowing until my fingers and toes were almost numb with the intense cold. I passed the bottle to Harry.

"It's freezing," I warned him but, when he drank the potion, he shuddered almost violently. "You alright?"

"Cold," he said with a shaky nod. I linked my arm through his, putting the bottle back in its place on the table.

"Let's do this, then," I murmured. As we stepped through the black fire, however, something separated us. When I finally regained my bearings, Harry was already way ahead of me, already talking to the solitary figure standing in front of a tall mirror.

Half of me desperately wanted to celebrate the fact that it wasn't Snape. The rest of me forced me to stay in the shadows. If it _was _Snape, then I would have known enough of how he behaves to at least react like a person. With this man, however, it was so unexpected that I was at a loss for words. Apparently, Harry was too.

"You!" Harry gasped. Quirrell smiled without a twitch. I felt unsettled looking at that smile as if I were a mouse that had drifted too close to a snake.

"Me," Quirrell confirmed. "I'd wondered whether I'd be meeting you here, Mr. Potter."

"But- I thought... Snape-" Goodness, Harry hadn't caught on yet. _Quirrell _was the bad guy, not Snape.

"Severus? Yes, Severus does seem the type, doesn't he? So useful to have him swooping around like an overgrown bat."

I couldn't move. I could hardly breathe. As Quirrell played his game, toying with Harry's head, I could do little more than watch, feeling more powerless than I had in months.

_Snap out of it!_ I roared to myself. _You are Corinne Lisbetta Wyncrest of the Wyncrest House! You are the daugher of Unspeakable Jason and Lady Armynth Wyncrest. You are the leader of a successful and loyal Corps and you're better than this! You'll be damned before you let anything, especially _Quirinus Quirrell_ hurt your friends!_

Just before I could make a move, though, Quirrell had removed his turban and I was left staring with a new horror at the one and only Lord Voldemort.

Anger and fear built up within me and a rush of panic filled me for just a moment as I recognized the feeling. Just like it had that first Yule celebration, the natural magic was coming to a head within me, threatening to burst free from my body. This time, though, I knew how it behaved. Stepping from the shadows, I hardly registered as Harry turned to me, his eyes still wide with horror and shock.

The power flowing through me was invigorating but burning. With each heartbeat, it pulsed and throbbed within me, running through my veins like electricity or the icy potion and blazing red hot all the while. I felt like my very being was burning but, at the same time, I felt so _free_ and _powerful_. I could do anything, even stare at the remains of the worst Dark Lord in recent history and clench my fists angrily.

I was sure Voldemort was saying something but the magic was roaring too loudly in my ears for me to hear. The pressure that had been steadily rising behind my sternum pushed up against my heart and my vision began to blur with gold sparks. I knew what I had to do.

"I'm sorry, Harry," I whispered before letting the magic tear its way free, whipping my hair about my face as all of the built up pressure released like a broken dam. The gold sparks flittering across my visions flared up to a bright white light before fading to darkness.


	14. Chapter 14

"I think she's waking up!" At the voice, I couldn't help but smile even though the slight movement sent a startling amount of pain through my body. My arms and legs were as heavy as lead and my chest felt like I'd been slammed out of the giant chess game Ron had played... Ron... Ron!

I snapped to a sitting position, exclaiming when my head smash into something extremely hard. Hearing a returning groan, I winced and rubbed at my head.

"Easy there, Cor. You're safe now. You're in the hospital wing," a familiar voice told me gently.

"Hermione?" I asked uncertainly, blinking to clear some lingering gold flecks from my vision. When I could see at last, I could see my first Gryffindor friend smiling down at me with concern and relief in her eyes. "How- What happened?"

"You sort of... Exploded. Harry didn't really say a lot about what happened, but whatever you did... You beat him. Dumbledore was just there just a few minutes after you passed out, according to Harry, and he got the both of you out of there."

"What happened with Quirrell? With Voldemort?" I pressed. Hermione's eyes darted away from me and I remembered what had happened the last time I'd lost control of my magic. Last time, I had nearly killed my father on accident. This time, it was intentional. I had all but aimed it at the man- though I use the term loosely- and I had to pay the price for that. "And the Stone?"

"It's been destroyed," another voice said. I looked past Hermione's perpetually bushy hair to see Harry in the bed next to mine. His bedside table was piled high with candies and, as I looked at him, I noticed that he had a growing pile of Chocolate Frog wrappers on his lap. "Dumbledore was in here a while ago... He told me what happened."

"Did I... Did I hurt you?" I asked softly, afraid of the answer. Harry shook his head with a smile before stopping, a wince on his face as if shaking his head had hurt.

"Nope."

"He's in here so he doesn't get mobbed by the rest of the school just yet. Madame Pomfrey wants to keep him on observation too," Hermione told me more helpfully.

"So when can I leave?" I asked hopefully. Hermione frowned.

"There's not really anything _wrong_ with you, I think. You were mostly here because you drained your magical core quite a bit-"

"Speaking of which, did my father stop by?" I asked curiously. The Unspeakables should have been alerted to the disturbance in my magic and, as a result, a team including my father would have been dispatched. Hermione's brow furrowed as she pondered the question, giving me my answer.

"I don't know..."

"That's fine. It's part of the job. He and the others have these special charms on their- Nevermind. It's just really hard to remember them coming in uniform," I explained vaguely. I looked to Harry. "So I didn't hurt you?"

"Maybe a scratch," Harry shrugged. I couldn't help but think he was rather casual about the whole experience. I had killed a man, our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Granted, he was a terrible teacher and the host of the one of the most evil men to ever exist who just happened to have some sort of personal vendetta against Harry, but he had still been human. Ish.

"So what does everyone know?" I asked, looking to Hermione. She smiled sheepishly.

"Almost everything," she admitted. "Ron sort of got excited. Once the twins found out, it was only a matter of time."

"Was it twisted?" I asked seriously. "Did it paint me in a positive or negative light?"

"Cor," Hermione said as if to calm me. Her eyes betrayed her anxiety though.

"Tell me the truth, Hermione."

"There are... rumors," she said, her voice hardly above a whisper. "Some people think that you led Harry down there to lead him to You-Know-Who. Or that you were just using the three of us to get to the Stone yourself. But it's ridiculous! I know you didn't."

"Of course they did... Have you been in contact with Daphne or Blaise? Are they running damage control for Slytherin?" I asked, my mind moving at a mile per minute. I couldn't be branded, not this early. I was barely out of first year, for Merlin's sake!

"Daphne said that she was working on it. But we haven't been able to talk... Without you, there's nothing to keep the Corps together. We're keeping up appearances but we need you back."

"Alright... I'll throw a plan together," I murmured almost to myself. It would have to be quite a dramatic plan indeed.

* * *

><p>When Madame Pomfrey was done giving both Harry and I our final check-ups before releasing us onto the world, there was a knocking on the door to the Hospital Wing. Hermione, Neville, Ron, Daphne, and Blaise all filed in, each already in their black robes.<p>

Sebastian had once told me that the only way to keep ahead was to present a united front. He had been referring to Slytherin House, of course, but the same principle applied to my Corps. We'd walk in side by side and, though we couldn't all sit together thanks to the seating arrangements, we were all represented on the pin, just larger than the prefect badge, Hermione had insisted we buy with the surplus funds from the Corps-iculum notes. Made to represent a shield, the central emblem was a coiled green serpent lying on the head of a golden lion. The upper half of the shield, cut diagonally, was colored silver while the other half was colored red. All in all, it was a fair representation of both of our houses and, to everyone's surprise, they came out rather nicely.

I sat down between Blaise and Daphne, each of us ignoring the hush that had fallen over the Great Hall as the seven of us arrived. Instead of talking, I took the opportunity to appreciate the Great Hall's redecoration.

In honor of Slytherin winning the House Cup, everything was green and silver. The drapes hanging from the ceiling, instead of displaying the school's crest, now bore Slytherin's emblem. A large banner hung up behind the High Table showed Slytherin's serpent.

To break the hush, Dumbledore arrived in the Great Hall less than a minute after my Corps did. As he took his place at the High Table, all attention drifted away from us and to him. Dumbledore smiled brightly at the crowd of students and faculty before beginning his end of term speech.

"Another year gone! And I must trouble you with an old man's wheezing waffle before we sink our teeth into our delicious feast. What a year it has been! Hopefully your heads are all a little fuller than they were... you have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before next year starts...

"Now, as I understand it, the house cup here needs awarding, and the points stand thus: In fourth place, Gryffindor, with three hundred and twelve points; in third, Hufflepuff, with three hundred and fifty-two; Ravenclaw has four hundred and twenty-six and Slytherin, four hundred and seventy- two."

Immediately my housemates and I roared and cheered with pride. Sure, it had been a lot of work during the year but to be able to definitively beat Gryffindor was priceless. Gryffindor could have the rest of the year; this moment was _ours_.

"Yes, yes, well done, Slytherin," Dumbledore said almost absently. "However, recent events must be taken into account."

_Recent events?_

"Ahem... I have a few last minute points to dish out. Let me see. Yes... First, to Mr. Ronald Weasley, for the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years, I aware Gryffindor house fifty points."

Gryffindor was immediately in a jubilant uproar but my stomach sank. If he was counting recent events... I knew where this was going and I did not like it.

"Second, to Miss Hermione Granger, for steadfast faith and loyalty to her friends in the face of danger and adversity, I award Gryffindor house fifty points."

I was happy for Hermione, I was. When I glanced over to see her face buried in her arms, likely out of embarrassment or to hide a sudden torrent of tears, I couldn't help but smile. I also couldn't help but realize that Gryffindor was just sixty points behind Slytherin now.

"Third, to Mr. Harry Potter..." The room went deathly quiet. "For pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor house sixty points."

_No._ I could feel the color drain from my face as I looked towards Daphne and Blaise.

"What about you?" Daphne asked softly, hysterical. Sebastian, from just a few seats away looked at me with a pained light in his eyes. "He's got to mention you. You're the one that _defeated_ him for Merlin's sake!"

"But she's also a Slytherin," Sebastian murmured bitterly.

But Dumbledore raised his hand one more time. His eyes traced almost sadly to the Slytherin table and I wasn't sure if it was because he truly didn't want to credit my house with points or if it was because he knew he wouldn't make any friends by doing so.

"And last but certainly not least," he said softly. The Gryffindor table and the others were abruptly silent, no one exactly sure what this latest turn of events was. "For incredible perseverance, dedication to her inter-house friends, the use of solid logic in the face of terrible danger, and for placing the needs of her friends above her own safety, I award Miss Corinne Wyncrest of Slytherin house seventy points."

I could feel so many eyes on me that I was shaking for a single terrible moment. No one in the Great Hall moved or made a single sound until, to my incredible relief, all of Slytherin roared their approval as one. The other houses weren't celebrating or cheering more than absolutely necessary but I didn't care.

Slytherin got to keep its streak for House Cup and Quidditch Cup because of _me_.

As I was clapped on the back so much that it hurt or pulled into hugs from people I didn't even know that well, I remembered the goal I had told the Sorting Hat. I wanted to change Slytherin house for the better. Maybe I had already begun...


	15. Epilogue

The end of the year came much too soon. Though I was glad to leave most of the nonsense behind regarding what had happened with the Philosopher's Stone, I would miss the castle and the ley lines that had grown so familiar to me. I wouldn't miss my friends too much, at least. By June, I had explicit permission from their families to host the Corps at the Wyncrest home in the Greater London area. Hermione and I would be spending a few days with her family in Muggle London before going directly to my family's house in London. Next to join us would be Blaise and Ron. Blaise's mother was going to drop him off while my father would take Damien to the Burrow and bring Ron back. Neville and Daphne both had responsibilities as heir to their respective names but would be joining us early into June and Harry would be coming at the earliest opportunity to get away from his Muggle relatives.

All in all, I was pleased with the summer arrangements. I hadn't spent much time at the London house outside of a few days here and there when we had engagements to attend at the Ministry early in the morning and it made more sense to sleep in town but I was sure it would go nicely. The house itself was ready for us; the five bedroom house on Palace Street in Westminster is used by my father often enough with his work that it is kept ready for use at all times. My parents and Sebastian wouldn't be staying with us- they would be going overseas to the United States to check out supplemental courses taught in the States over the summer that weren't offered in Great Britain- but Naia would be with us to keep an eye on us while Shanti and Khian watched over the main house.

It still seemed all too sudden when the Hogwarts Express pulled into King's Cross Station. As we all tracked down our luggage, I brought my group together to exchange a few last words and orders before we dispersed.

"Remember the plans. If you get delayed, make sure you let me know so I can tell Naia," I said to my friends and allies. Sifting through my backpack for a moment, I pulled out a large box, opening it very carefully to reveal seven silver mirrors. I held the box out so that everyone could take one. "These are two-way or, in this case, seven-way mirrors. I figured we needed another way of keeping in contact and this is the only way I could arrange for without getting my parents involved. To work it, you just say the full name of the person you want to talk to twice or, if you want to talk to the whole group, just say 'Corps' twice. Keep it on you at all times; if it starts to shake or get warm, someone's trying to talk to you."

"Brilliant," Harry breathed, examining his mirror. Each of the mirrors was small, only two or three inches tall and across, with the initials of each member inscribed around the edge. On the back, the Corps' logo was cast in relief.

"They're made of polished silver so we don't have to worry about them shattering or scratching. If they start getting fuzzy, just polish it like silverware and it _should_ clear up," I said, trying to recall everything the vendor from Diagon Alley had told me through his letter. I'm sure that I was forgetting a lot but, at the moment, that was enough.

We soon lost Daphne, Blaise, and Neville to their guardians but the rest of us stuck together fairly well. As we made our way through the portal in small groups, people still shouting their goodbyes behind us, a new voice rang out.

"There he is, Mum! Look, there he-"

"Be quiet, Ginny. It's not polite to stare," a friendly-faced woman I recognized immediately as Ron's mother scolded the girl next to her. Ginny, who only looked about a year younger than me, pouted dramatically but quieted.

"Busy year?" Mrs. Weasley asked in greeting, smiling down at us. When she spotted me in the small group, a concerned light flickered briefly in her eyes before vanishing just as quickly. "And you must be Miss Wyncrest. Hello, dear, I'm Ron's mum."

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Weasley. Please, just call me Cor," I smiled warmly. "I want to thank you in advance for letting Ron come spend so much of the summer with me."

"I was just proud to hear that he's been studying," Mrs. Weasley laughed good naturedly. Looking much abashed, Ron grumbled irritably to her mother, ears bright red. I laughed with the woman until a too-familiar figure melted out of the crowd alongside the Weasley twins.

Stopping dead in his tracks, Damien glared at me for a moment before a tense fake smile came to his lips.

"Oh, Cor. Didn't think I'd be seeing you. I thought Mum and Bass already left." His tone was clipped and short. I set my jaw, refusing to let him hurt me again. If I wasn't his sister, then he wasn't my brother.

"They did," I responded smoothly. "Mum is letting me staying with Hermione's family in for a few days before we go to Palace Street."

"I had forgotten." The icy look in his eyes intensified but I didn't back down. I had looked Voldemort in the face- sort of. My idiot brother wasn't going to intimidate me now.

"That's alright. I didn't expect you to keep up on my summer plans," I replied with a bright smile, hiding a grin when Damien's eyes narrowed at me before he looked to Mrs. Weasley, relaxing his expression.

"I would introduce you, but it seems you've already met my darling sister." The sarcasm was not lost on me but it didn't seem to register for the kind woman. She opened her mouth to respond but a brusque male voice interrupted.

"Ready, are you?"

I looked up at the voice and saw what was either a very small whale or a very rotund man with a walrus moustache. Behind him stood a woman with a long narrow face as slender as her body and a boy that should skip a dessert or two.

"You must be Harry's family," Mrs. Weasley said, very narrowly disguising her shock at the man's rudeness. The man didn't seem pleased to be seen in relation to Harry.

"In a manner of speaking," he said very reluctantly before glaring back at Harry. "Hurry up, boy, we haven't got all day."

And he walked back to his wife and son without another word to Harry, leaving us staring after him in shock.

"How does he function in polite society?" I wondered aloud.

"I never asked," Harry said, shaking his head tiredly before a grin split his face. "But he doesn't know I'm not supposed to use magic outside of school. And I've only got to be there for a couple of weeks, right?"

"Right. And if they give you any trouble, just say the word and Naia will get you out of there," I promised. With a final nod, Hermione, Ron and I wished Harry luck in surviving the next few weeks and watched him disappear after his relatives, hauling his luggage and Hedwig's cage after him.

"Oh, there's my parents!" Hermione said excitedly, pointing into the crowd. I recognized the pair of dentists, both wearing proud smiles as they waded through the crowd towards their daughter, and gave them a wave. "Oh, this is going to be the best summer ever!"

"Yeah," I murmured, smiling goodbye to Mrs. Weasley as she tried to herd her family out. Hermione's dad ruffled my hair and, the moment she released her daughter, Hermione's mother crushed me in a hug. "Definitely."


End file.
